Coach Gus Malzahn agrees to $49M deal to stay with Auburn, sources say

ByABC News
December 3, 2017, 8:08 PM

— -- Coach Gus Malzahn has agreed to a new deal that will keep him at Auburn, sources told ESPN's Chris Low.

The deal is for seven years and $49 million, and Malzahn will make more than $7 million in the final year of the deal, sources confirmed.

The new deal was first reported by AuburnUndercover.com.

Arkansas?came after Malzahn, who was a successful high school coach in the state of Arkansas, with a lucrative offer, but he will remain on the Plains.

Following the Tigers' 28-7 loss to Georgia?in the SEC championship game on Saturday night, Malzahn addressed reports that he would be offered the head-coaching position at Arkansas, which fired Bret Bielema over Thanksgiving weekend after five seasons in Fayetteville.

Malzahn's Arkansas ties run deep. A native of Fort Smith, he spent two seasons as a walk-on wide receiver with the Razorbacks in 1984-85, made his name as a legendary high school football coach in the state and did stints as offensive coordinator at Arkansas and head coach at? Arkansas State.

But having just wrapped up his fifth regular season at the helm in Auburn, Malzahn told ESPN that he would prefer to stay on, saying, "We have worked very hard to create something here. We have a great foundation for the future. I'm the head coach at Auburn, and I'm looking forward to seeing where this can go, what we've built, in the future. I want to see that through, personally."

Malzahn echoed those sentiments during his postgame media session, saying that he believes the team will repeat as SEC West Division champion and return to the conference title game one year from now, adding: "I'm happy at Auburn. I think the best is yet to come."