Steve Sarkisian vaulted into the top-5 highest-paid college football coaches Saturday when Texas announced contract details for the extension he signed in January. Sarkisian’s salary jumped from $5.8 million to $10.3 million for the 2024 season and increases by $100,000 annually until 2030. Nine of the 15 highest-paid coaches are at SEC programs, the most of any conference.
With Sarkisian’s healthy bonus, seven coaches are set to make $10+ million next season, with LSU’s Brian Kelly just missing the cut at $9.9 million. Three of those coaches are at SEC schools, while the ACC and Big Ten tie for second at two apiece. Only one coach in college football makes $11+ million annually.
Matt Rhule at Nebraska looks to join college football’s highest-paid in the near future. Rhule’s deal with the Huskers started at $5.5 million in 2023 and climbs $1 million annually to push Rhule to $10 million by 2027, according to Husker247.
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Here are college football’s 15 highest-paid coaches ahead of the 2024 season:
15. BILLY NAPIER, FLORIDA ($7.3M: 2024 SALARY)
Napier contract details: The former Louisiana head coach and longtime SEC assistant signed a seven-year, $51.8 million deal when he became the Gators’ new leader ahead of the 2022 season and two years later, progress needs to be shown to keep his job. His first-year salary was $7.1 million in 2022 with an annual $100,000 escalator built in. Napier led the Gators to a 6-7 record during his first season in Gainesville and failed to make a bowl game this past fall at 5-7.
14. LUKE FICKELL, WISCONSIN ($7.6M)
Fickell contract details: With 80% of his seven-year, nearly $55 million contract guaranteed, Fickell can breathe easy knowing he has a long leash with the Badgers after a worse-than-expected first season. His contract averages $7.8 million per year over the life of the current deal after Fickell brought home $7.5 million in 2023. Fickell went 57-18 overall with Cincinnati previously, including a 13-1 record in 2021 with the Bearcats after they became the first Group of Five team to reach the College Football Playoff.
13. MIKE GUNDY, OKLAHOMA STATE ($7.75M)
Gundy contract details: Gundy became the Big 12’s highest-paid coach in 2022 after a contract extension and it looks like it will stay that way for 2024 following Texas and Oklahoma’s departure to the SEC. Per GoPokes247, the change — at the time — included an increase in annual compensation of $1 million, as well as a retention bonus of $1 million over each of the next five seasons. Gundy’s new contract featured a $125,000 annual escalator, which is why his 2024 salary sits at nearly $7.8 million.
12. JAMES FRANKLIN, PENN STATE ($8.5M)
Franklin contract details: Like many others at elite power conference programs, the Penn State coach has a handsome guarantee compensation installment for 2024 ($7 million), a $1 million life insurance loan and gets a $500,000 bonus if he keeps his job through Dec. 31, 2024. That comes out to $8.5 million, the same number he received in 2023 prior to guiding the Nittany Lions to the Peach Bowl, where he earned a $300,000 bonus. He will be one of the Big Ten’s highest-paid coaches in 2024.
T-9. MARK STOOPS, KENTUCKY ($9M)
Stoops contract details: One of the SEC’s longest-tenured coaches signed an extension in November 2022 that was record-setting for Wildcats football and is set to pay him handsomely through the 2031 season. Stoops has gone from $6.3 million per year to $8.6 million and another $400,000 increase puts his 2024 salary to $9 million. Kentucky almost lost Stoops to the Texas A&M vacancy during this coaching cycle, but he stayed in Lexington. His deal is also laced with incentives for various levels of success annually.
T-9. JOSH HEUPEL, TENNESSEE ($9M)
Heupel contract details: Heupel received a huge contract extension in January 2023, locking him in with the Vols through the 2029 season. With a salary around $9 million annually, he is now one of the highest-paid coaches in college football, not just the SEC. That signature on a new deal came after he led the Vols to a 10-2 regular season in 2022 — their best mark since 2001 — capped by the memorable win over Clemson in the Orange Bowl. Heupel has 27 wins over his first three seasons with the program, the most for a Tennessee coach since Phillip Fulmer.
T-9. ELI DRINKWTIZ, MISSOURI ($9M)
Drinkwitz contract details: Drinkwitz finalized an extension in December that will pay him $9 million per season the next two years before expanding to $9.5 million and is tied through 2028. The new-found momentum for the Tigers has them surging going into 2024. The mindset within the program has also changed as Missouri goes from a typical SEC bottom-feeder to a potential College Football Playoff contender in the expanded format.
T-9. LANE KIFFIN, OLE MISS ($9M)
Kiffin’s contract details: The Peach Bowl winner who may have a top-10 team in 2024 agreed to a new extension in December that keeps him around through the 2028 season.
“We’re doing things here that have never been done before, and with the commitment that our leadership and supporters are making, we have the opportunity to build on the foundation that has been established over the last four years,” Kiffin said in the school’s official statement. “I’m grateful to Chancellor Boyce and Keith for their support, and we look forward to continuing on our path to becoming a championship program.”
8. BRIAN KELLY, LSU ($9.9M)
Kelly contract details: LSU lured Kelly away from Notre Dame with a lucrative offer soaring past $100 million over the life of the contract two coaching cycles ago. In 32 years as a head coach, Kelly has amassed a record of 283-103-2 (excluding vacated wins), which ranks him first among all active FBS coaches in career victories. Kelly has only had two teams finish below .500 during his collegiate career and is coming off his second straight 10-win season to begin his tenure with the Tigers.
T-5. MIKE NORVELL, FLORIDA STATE ($10M)
Norvell contract details: Florida State’s ACC championship-winning coach cashed in on his unbeaten season in 2023 with an eight-year deal worth more than $10 million per season in January, when he became one of the rumored candidates for the Alabama vacancy. Norvell’s contract received an amendment last offseason, when FSU extended to a seven-year deal paying him an average of 7.8 million dollars per season. It was set to expire on December 31, 2029. Had Norvell’s team been selected for the playoff last fall, he would’ve received a $500,000 bonus.
4. RYAN DAY, OHIO STATE ($10.2M)
Day contract details: Ohio State’s coach signed a seven-year contract in May 2022 and later enjoyed a pay bump ahead of the 2023 season, increasing his salary to $9.9 million. He had a $250,000 bonus active on Jan. 31 — after he put the finishing touches on an elite transfer portal haul this cycle — and will now cross $10 million in 2024, making him the Big Ten’s highest-paid coach. There’s also a sizable buyout number included in Day’s deal if any NFL teams come calling before the end of this contract.
3. Steve Sarkisian, Texas (10.3M)
Sarkisian contract details: Fresh off leading Texas to its first College Football Playoff berth, Sarkisian was awarded a four-year extension and will see his salary jump from $5.8 million to $10.3 million. Sarkisian will receive salary increases of $100,000 annually, reaching a total of $10.9 million in the final year of the contract in 2030. He can earn an extra $1.85 million annually in performance incentives, including $1.25 million for winning the national championship. Sarkisian also gets two dealer cars and the use of a private jet, among other perks.
2. KIRBY SMART, GEORGIA ($10.7M)
Smart contract details: Georgia recently dropped a bag for the two-time national champion, signing Smart to a lucrative extension through the 2031 season. Smart will see annual increases in salary, culminating at $12.2 million by the final year of the deal — a number and contract that is sure to be increased and restructured should the Bulldogs continue to win at an elite level. Smart owns a 81-15 record at Georgia as head coach since taking over in time for the 2016 season, guiding the Bulldogs to consecutive national championships, three College Football Playoff appearances and a pair of SEC titles. Georgia has represented the East in the SEC title game five times in the Smart era.
1. DABO SWINNEY, CLEMSON ($11.5M)
Swinney contract details: College football’s new highest-paid coach after Nick Saban decided to retire, Swinney agreed to a 10-year contract extension in September 2022 that keeps him at Clemson through the 2031 season. His buyout is set at $7.5 million, one of the highest among Alabama’s rumored candidates last month before the Crimson Tide landed DeBoer. He has posted 12 double-digit win seasons during his tenure at Clemson and has won two national championships over four trips to the College Football Playoff.
Brad Crawford contributed to this report.
