Oregon’s offense may sell tickets, but the program is investing in a defensive staff it hopes can help the Ducks win championships.

The amended contracts for veteran assistants Don Pellum and John Neal were released on Friday, along with the terms of the agreement with new full-time coach Erik Chinander.

None of the above is the highest paid defensive assistant. That is defensive line coach Ron Aiken, whose guaranteed salary for his second year at Oregon is $500,000.

Pellum, who was promoted to defensive coordinator following the retirement of Nick Aliotti, will earn $400,000 in guaranteed salary. He made $300,000 last season as the Ducks’ linebackers coach.

On Feb. 1, 2013, an amendment to Aliotti’s contract went into effect bumping his total guaranteed compensation for his final season at Oregon to $419,250, up from $370,000 per year in the original contract. He also received $69,505 in bonuses for the Ducks’ appearance and victory over Texas in the Alamo Bowl and final national ranking of No. 9 in the Associated Press poll.

Neal, Oregon’s secondary coach, was given the added title of defensive passing game coordinator in January after he remained with the Ducks instead of pursuing the head coaching position at Alabama-Birmingham. He also gets a $25,000 raise, bringing his annual guaranteed compensation to $325,000.

Chinander was a graduate assistant at Oregon who followed Chip Kelly to the Philadelphia Eagles last year. After a season coaching in the NFL, Chinander, 34, returned to Eugene to coach the outside linebackers, the position group Aliotti handled in the past, with a guaranteed annual salary of $275,000 in the two-year deal.

All of the contracts include bonuses for postseason participation, rankings and academic progress rates.

For example, Pellum could earn $30,000 if the Ducks are ranked in the top 10 of the final Associated Press or USA Today Coaches poll, $133,333 (four months of his base salary) if the team appears in the College Football Playoff and another $75,000 if the program wins the national championship.

Neal and Chinander could earn $50,000 if the Ducks won a national title and $20,000 for a top-10 ranking.

The total guaranteed payout for Oregon’s nine assistants this year is $3.24 million.

Longtime offensive line coach Steve Greatwood has the highest salary ($379,250) on the staff, with second-year offensive coordinator Scott Frost and special teams/tight ends coach Tom Osborne each making $367,584 per year.

Wide receivers coach Matt Lubick ($325,000) and running backs coach Gary Campbell ($300,000) round out the offensive staff.

Mark Helfrich’s salary is $1.8 million plus incentives. Last season he earned a $50,000 bonus for taking the Ducks to a non-BCS bowl game and a $60,000 bonus after Oregon finished ranked in the top 10.

The Ducks were 11-2 during Helfrich’s first season as head coach, but the two losses in November prevented him from receiving:

$200,000 for winning 12 games in the regular season.

$150,000 for participation in the BCS national championship game.

$100,000 for participation in the Rose Bowl or a BCS at-large bowl.

$50,000 for winning the North Division and $100,000 for winning the Pac-12 championship.

In the original five-year contract, another year can be added to the deal when Helfrich wins 11 games in a season, but only if one of the victories is a BCS bowl or a College Football Playoff game.

Follow Ryan on Twitter @rgduckfootball