The University of Exeter's vice-chancellor could receive bonuses totalling £391,700 after completing his contract.
This is on top of an annual salary for 2020.
His base salary for 2017/18 was £315,000.
Sir Steve Smith will receive the sum if he completes his agreed contract, meets performance targets and does not work for a competitor for a year after leaving the university.
A retention payment of £105,850 will be made to the vice-chancellor if he carries out his role until his contract expires on August 31 2020.
He will also be paid a further £105,850 if he does not take a job with a rival university within a year of leaving the University of Exeter.
The vice-chancellor is eligible for a performance award of "circa £180,000" at the end of 2019/20, according to a financial report from the university.
In 2017/18, he received a performance award of £40,950, 13 per cent of his total salary.
Sir Steve Smith is a board member and former chair of Universities UK, and has served as the University of Exeter's vice-chancellor since 2002.
A spokesman for the University of Exeter said: “Sir Steve is one of the UK’s longest-serving vice-chancellors and chief executive of a multi-million pound organisation with a substantial and sustained global reputation.
"The vice-chancellor’s salary is independently set by the University’s Remuneration Committee, of which the vice-chancellor is not a member, and is made publicly available.
"This year, the vice-chancellor’s salary has remained fixed. More significantly, these latest figures show that the overall remuneration package has a year-on-year decrease by almost four per cent."
Regarding the large bonuses on offer to Sir Steve Smith, a university spokesman said: "It is important to stress that if payments under these schemes are triggered in 2020 and 2021, they will reflect the Vice-Chancellor’s commitment and outstanding performance against challenging targets over a long period of time."
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