Texas A&M coach Mike Elko has led the No. 3 Aggies to a perfect 9-0 record this season. The Aggies are on the verge of reaching the SEC championship game and clinching a berth in the College Football Playoff.
Due to the Aggies’ stellar performances under Elko, the Texas A&M coach has been linked to several top jobs in college football, including the Penn State Nittany Lions job that has been vacant since James Franklin’s firing last month.
Penn State Faces Disappointment After Mike Elko Extends Contract
On Saturday, Yahoo Sports reporter Ross Dellenger announced that Elko and the Aggies had agreed to a six-year contract extension worth up to $11.5 million per year, totaling $69 million. Elko’s new contract will propel him into the top-five highest-paid coaches in college football.
“Mike Elko and Texas A&M are finalizing a new contract to make him one of the top-10 highest-paid coaches in the country and securing his future amid this historic coaching cycle, sources tell @YahooSports. Elko is 17-5 in College Station and has the Aggies 9-0 and ranked No. 3,” Dellenger tweeted.
“The school is expected to announce the new deal as soon as today. Elko’s previous deal was an incentive-based contract paying him $7 million annually (32nd in the country). The new contract – most of it guaranteed – is expected to more align with others at the top of his field.”
Mike Elko and Texas A&M are finalizing a new contract to make him one of the top-10 highest-paid coaches in the country and securing his future amid this historic coaching cycle, sources tell @YahooSports.
Elko is 17-5 in College Station and has the Aggies 9-0 and ranked No. 3.
— Ross Dellenger (@RossDellenger) November 15, 2025
After an 8-5 finish last season, Elko now has a 17-5 record since he became the Texas A&M coach last year after Jimbo Fisher was fired.
Elko Challenges Team To Finish the Season on a High
Last year in November, Elko’s Aggies still had a chance to reach the SEC championship game and clinch a spot in the College Football Playoff, before things fell apart. The 7-1 Aggies lost to the South Carolina Gamecocks and the Auburn Tigers, ending their SEC dream, before capitulating against the Texas Longhorns in College Station, effectively ending their playoff dreams.
During his weekly news conference before the Aggies face the Gamecocks in Week 12 action once again, Elko challenged his team to finish the season strongly, while reminding them of last year’s capitulation.
“From a CEO perspective, obviously, I believe this is what this program is capable of,” Elko said. “That’s why we’re here. We believe the ceiling of this program is really high. For nine games, we’ve lived up to it. Now, we’ve got to finish. Is this our last question from last year?
“I don’t know about the past. I know we’re 4–0 this year on the road, and we’ve only got one left. The culture of this group is really strong. The work they’ve put in, the way they believe in each other, it’s showing up every week. We’re not finished yet, but we’re getting there.”
The Aggies are only one of three remaining unbeaten teams in the College Football Playoff ranking, with a considerable chance to clinch one of the four first-round byes alongside Alabama, Indiana, and Ohio State.
