Memphis football coach Ryan Silverfield's new five-year contract was announced on Tuesday, but it's only a five-year contract for the time being.

The contract — a copy of which was obtained by the Commercial Appeal through an open records request — includes a clause that could extend Silverfield's term essentially in perpetuity.

If the Tigers win nine or more regular season games in any season during the contract (which runs through 2028), Silverfield will get a raise of $100,000 and have the deal extended for one season. If Memphis wins 10 regular season games and goes to the conference championship game, he'll get a $250,000 raise and have the deal extended for two years.

The two-year extension can only happen once, but the one-year extension for winning nine games does not have the same cap.

It's particularly important because the Tigers are coming off a nine-win regular season and are expected to be even better in 2024. Memphis won the AutoZone Liberty Bowl to get to double-digit wins and returns most of its key contributors, including the program's all-time leading passer in Seth Henigan and first team All-AAC linebacker Chandler Martin.

"This is the longest I've spent anywhere in my career," Silverfield said. "And I love it here. I'm thrilled to be here."

Silverfield's new contract — effectively a five-year, $12.25 million deal — includes a number of incentives and changes from his old deal, which had been set to run through 2025. Here are a few of the important clauses.

Ryan Silverfield's Memphis football staff salary pool grows

The university agreed to a significant raise in the salary pool for assistant coaches. That number was $3 million in Silverfield's old deal and is now $4.15 million under the new agreement. It will also be raised by $100,000 each season.

Offensive coordinator Tim Cramsey signed a new two-year, $1 million contract this offseason. New defensive coordinator Jordon Hankins signed a two-year, $730,000 contract when he was promoted in January.

Deputy head coach and secondary coach Charles Clark has a one-year, $335,000 deal. All assistant contracts also include incentives that can raise the overall value of the deal.

Ryan Silverfield buyout details

Under the previous contract, Silverfield's buyout if fired without cause was 60 percent of the money left on the deal. Those terms did not change in this new deal, but the extension to 2028 and potentially beyond means that number has gone up significantly.

If Silverfield were to leave for another job on or before Dec. 31, 2024, he would owe Memphis $1.5 million. That figure decreases to $1 million after Dec. 31, 2025, $750,000 after Dec. 31, 2026 and $500,000 after Dec. 31, 2027.

This clause could also be affected by the overall length of Silverfield's contract. If he wins nine regular season games and extends the deal by a year, this clause also rolls back a year. If he wins 10 regular season games and appears in the conference championship game (thus extending the contract by two years), this resets to the original $1.5 million number.

If Silverfield leaves for a head coaching job of a professional football team, he will not owe the university any money.

Ryan Silverfield salary includes conference realignment clause

There's a long list of incentives that can raise Silverfield's pay. Near the lower end is a win over a power conference team, which would pay Silverfield $25,000.

The contract also includes this phrase, as Memphis continuously tries to position itself in conference realignment: "if University attains membership in a Power Five Conference, this bonus provision shall become null and void for the Contract Year(s) University is a member of a Power Five Conference."

The highest possible incentive is a national title win, which would earn Silverfield $500,000.

He would earn $50,000 if he wins either conference coach of the year or national coach of the year.

Reach sports writer Jonah Dylan at jonah.dylan@commercialappeal.com or on Twitter @thejonahdylan.

This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Memphis football: Ryan Silverfield contract extension details, perks