$5m/year, give or take, was the market rate for Frost after going 12-0. If we didn't pay it, someone else would have. We lost our chance to get him for a discount three years ago, although not sure he would have come here while Perlman/Eichorst were in charge anyway. Frost is the right guy for NU, the timing is perfect and we weren't going to let money get in the way. For all the grief we've received about whether joining the B1G was the right move, our full share of the honey pot certainly kicked in at the right time.
As for the years, the length of the contract is irrelevant. No coach is going to get less than three years without doing something insane. And since a coach always has to be under contract for the next four seasons (at least) for recruiting purposes, seven years is essentially the minimum length. The same reason Riley is getting paid for the next four years and Pelini is, somehow, still getting paid by us as well. *sigh with prolonged eye roll*
Otherwise, we give him a four- or five-year deal and we're already extending him in a year or two. Might as well go seven now and show him that we're willing to fully invest and give him the time he needs to right the ship. The way salaries are going up in big boy football, it could end up looking like a bargain in a few years.
