When former NY Giants defensive coordinator Wink Martindale went through his nasty divorce with Brian Daboll, the expectation was that it'd have a major impact on his wallet. Martindale was set to make around $3.25 million in 2024 with Big Blue.
However, that was wiped away after he reportedly met with Daboll, cursed him out and stormed out of his office after telling Coach Dabes that he wouldn't be back on his staff. Yeah, things were quite rough. Martindale has since landed with Michigan and according to Football Scoop, he's getting PAID with the reigning National Champions:
Wink making $2.3 million at Michigan this year per @FootballScoop. Goodness https://t.co/cZ61PWnNrn
— GMEN HQ (@GMENHQ) March 21, 2024
Wink Martindale is set to earn $2.3 million with Michigan this season
Per Doug Samuels, Martindale will be making $2.3 million in 2024, while he's set to make $2.5 million in 2025 and $2.7 million in 2026. This is a historic three-year contract for Martindale and it likely has him less angry about his exit from East Rutherford.
Throughout '23, you could sense the tension rising between Daboll and Martindale. When outside linebackers coach Drew Wilkins was fired, it felt like Martindale would be on his way out soon after. Daboll reportedly gave Martindale a chance to come back, but Wink's mind was already made up.
This offseason, the Giants hired Shane Bowen to take over Martindale's duties as defensive coordinator. Bowen was previously with the Titans and he'll have plenty of young talent to work with in New Jersey, of course highlighted by Dexter Lawrence, Deonte Banks, Bobby Okereke, Kayvon Thibodeaux and the newly-added Brian Burns.
The future is bright for the Giants D and it's something Martindale surely would have loved to be a part of. However, he's now in Ann Arbor getting ready to try and help Michigan repeat as champs. He'll be doing so making $7.7 million over the next three years. Not a bad chunk of change at all for him.