Who Is the Highest Paid College Football Coach in 2024/25?

As you may expect, coaches need to win to get a big contract, and if they want to become the highest-paid coach, they need to win a National Championship. Last season’s highest-paid coach, Nick Saban, retired as the greatest coach ever in college football.

He left Tuscaloosa with seven national championships (the most ever), 11 SEC championships, and a 209-29 record as the head coach of Alabama.

Throughout his 24 years with the program, Saban was continually getting new contracts that would reset the market as soon as someone would get more than him. Saban rightfully made $11.41 million in his last season with Alabama, but he decided to take his talents and become a TV analyst.

With Saban out, one of his former assistants was the obvious candidate to become the highest-paid coach. Kirby Smart led the Bulldogs to their second straight national championship, making it easy for the University of Georgia to give him an extension and make him the highest-paid coach.

Smart is only 1-4 against Saban, but that was good enough to dethrone his former boss as the best team in college football and the highest-paid coach. In May, Smart signed a 10-year, $130 million contract extension, which increased his yearly salary from $10 million to $13 million. This article will dive into more specifics of the highest-paid NCAA football coaches and how they got there. Check out more like this one at our site.

The Changing of College Football Coaching Salaries

Before 1972, coaching college football was more of a passion than a well-paid job. After that point, these prestigious universities started paying college football coaches larger and larger amounts going from five to eight figures in a 50-year span.

In the 1970s, salaries became structured as “total compensation packages” that included benefits off the field. Joe Paterno and Bobby Bowden (the two winningest coaches ever in college football) were two guys who led the way with off-the-field deals with companies like Nike.

When he was hired in 1976, Bowden made $37,500 per year. By the end of his 34-year tenure, he was making over $2 million. His contract signed in 1995 was, in a way, the sport’s first million-dollar deal. Florida couldn’t be outdone by their in-state rivals, making Steve Spurrier the first million-dollar earner by average contract value in 1996.

By 2004, at least 23 college football coaches earned $1 million annually in total compensation. In 2008, LSU structured Les Miles’ contract to be the highest in the SEC, plus $1,000, putting his salary right above Sabans at $3.75 million. Jim Harbaugh left the NFL and came to Michigan for $5 million per year in December 2014. That was re-done after an impressive 2015 season to get to $7 million per year.

The recent era of contracts now includes huge total amounts because they are long-term deals. One of the most outlandish deals was Florida State giving Jimbo Fisher a fully guaranteed $75 million for 10 years in 2018. In 2019 Daboo Swinney‘s 10-year $92 million contract with Clemson shattered the previous total by nearly $20 million.

What factors determine a college football coach’s salary?

Winning is the main factor for a coach to get the bag, but winning isn’t everything. Coaching in one of the three major conferences is the best way to get paid the big bucks. The SEC, Big Ten, and ACC are the only conferences in the top ten of highest-paid coaches and their teams have high championship probability according to .

It is almost guaranteed a coach will be on the list if they coach for the best teams in those conferences. But again, to get one of those jobs, a coach must usually win at some point in their career.

The Big 12 is the only other conference that cracks the top-25 highest-paid coaches list. So, the quickest way to become one of the highest-paid NCAA football coaches is to secure a job in one of the four big conferences. The names will change among the top-paid coaches, but the schools will practically remain the same. After Saban left, Alabama was an example of this, making Kalen Deboer a top-5, highest-paid coach.

Most of the guys in the top 10 earned extensions at their schools after having a good year on the field. To become one of the highest-paid coaches, first, the coach needs a job in one of the four major conferences.

Then, they need to win at that school to get a large contract extension. And if they want to be the highest-paid coach, they need to knock off the previous number one and win a national championship. Finally, let’s take a look at who are the other coaches sitting atop the college football world with Kirby Smart.

Rank Coach College Total Compensation

1 Kirby Smart Georgia $13 million

2 Dabo Swinney Clemson $11.5 million

3 Lincoln Riley USC $11 million

4 Steve Sarkisian Texas $10.3 million

5 Kalen DeBoer Alabama $10 million

6 Mike Norvell Florida State $9.8 million

T-7 Brian Kelly LSU $9.5 million

T-7 Ryan Day Ohio State $9.5 million

T-9 Lane Kiffin Ole Miss $9 million

T-9 Josh Heupel Tennessee $9 million

T-9 Mark Stoops Kentucky $9 million