NEW: UT’s Jeremy Pruitt gets extension, pay raise

University of Tennessee Athletic Director Phil Fulmer announced a pay raise Thursday for head football coach Jeremy Pruitt.

The deal also extends Pruitt’s contract in Knoxville to 2025 besides the $4.2 million in annual pay.

Fulmer said in the report that the extension was almost completed earlier this year but Pruitt preferred not to receive the increase due to the pandemic.

Pruitt jumps former UT and current Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin for ninth among SEC coaches’ salaries. Alabama’s Nick Saban tops that category at more than $9 million before endorsements.

The Volunteers’ 2020 kickoff is this weekend at South Carolina.

(IMAGE: University of Tennessee Knoxville / Tennessee Athletics)