Danny White contract valuation: How much will the Tennessee AD make? Salary details, incentives and more

The Tennessee Volunteers have made a change to athletic director Danny White's contract. The new deal makes White the highest-paid AD in the SEC, according to ESPN's Pete Thamel.

According to the report, White's salary will now be an annual base salary of $2.75 million, with his contract ending in July of 2030, as well as a 5% annual increase. His salary was originally set to be $2.2 million and has been given a raise.

"When Danny says he and his team of exceptional athletics administrators and coaches are working to build the best athletics department in the country, those are not just empty words," said Tennessee Chancellor Donde Plowman in a statement.

"Danny is visionary -- a leader in our conference and across the country -- and is focused every day on creating the very best experiences for our student-athletes, our fans and our athletics department. That focus and commitment are yielding extraordinary results across all sports."

White was hired in 2021 and has helped resurrect the football program, as the Volunteers are one of the premier football programs in the nation and could make the 12-team playoff.

White played a key role in hiring Volunteers football coach Josh Heupel. The Vols baseball program also won a national title this season, which was the athletic department's first national title since 2009.

Danny White left UCF to take the AD job at Tennessee.

Danny White's contract incentives

Danny White will also have plenty of incentives in his contract.

According to ESPN, White can earn up to $600,000 in incentives, a maximum that increased from $300,000 in his prior deal.

The incentives can only be unlocked if Tennessee hits academic and athletic benchmarks, which the school has hit throughout his tenure. His private flight access also increased in the new contract to 10 one-way flights.

"We have phenomenal leadership at the University of Tennessee -- from our chancellor, my boss Donde Plowman, to our UT System president, Randy Boyd, and our board chair, John Compton," said White in a statement. "I'm grateful for the opportunity to serve such an upwardly mobile institution with talented, supportive people all around me," he added.

Danny White is the son of former Duke and Notre Dame athletic director Kevin.