After leading his alma mater to its first national championship in 41 years, Georgia has made Kirby Smart the highest-paid college football coach ever.
The 10-year contract extension worth $112.5 million will keep Smart in Athens through the 2031 season. The record-breaking deal marks a whopping 58% raise for Smart, who was previously earning approximately $7.13 million per year on his previous contract.
Smart’s contract also resets the market for the highest-paid college football coaches.
Prior to the deal, Lincoln Riley was the highest-paid coach in the country with a contract valued at an estimated $10 million per year.
Top 10 Highest Paid College Football Coaches
Want to know how much college football coaches make around the country?
Below, we’ll go over the top 10 highest paid college football coaches ahead of the 2022 NCAA college football schedule in-depth.
If you came for the TL;DR version, here are the top 10 highest paid college football coaches as of December, 2024.
- Kirby Smart, Georgia Head Coach, $10,250,000
- Lincoln Riley, USC Head Coach: $10,000,000
- Nick Saban, Alabama Head Coach: $9,753,221
- Brian Kelly, LSU Head Coach: $9,500,000
- Mel Tucker, Michigan State Head Coach: $9,500,000
- Ryan Day, Ohio State Head Coach: $9,500,000
- David Shaw, Stanford Head Coach: $8,925,000
- Dabo Swinney, Clemson Head Coach: $8,370,775
- Mario Cristobal, Miami Hurricanes Head Coach: $8,000,000
- Jimbo Fisher, Texas A&M Head Coach: $7,500,000
*Honorable Mention: Lane Kiffin, Ole Miss Head Coach: $7,250,000
Highest Paid College Football Coaches December, 2024
1. Kirby Smart, Georgia Head Coach: $11,250,000
Kirby Smart led Georgia to its first national title since 1980.
At the time, Smart’s deal was considered one of the biggest bargains in the country.
After signing a record-breaking contract extension, Smart now enters the 2022 season as the highest-paid college football coach in the country.
Smart’s 10-year deal gives him a healthy 58% pay raise and will keep him in Georgia until the 2031 season.
Since becoming the head coach at Georgia, Smart is 66-15, including 6-2 in bowl games. Under Smart, Georgia won its first SEC title in 12 years during the 2017 season.
The two-time SEC Coach of the Year has also guided the Bulldogs to wins in the College Football Playoff and New Year’s Day bowl.
2. Lincoln Riley, USC’s Head Coach: $10,000,000+
Lincoln Riley currently ranks as the second-highest paid coach in college football, taking home $10 million per year to his reported $17.2 million Los Angeles mansion.
While the full details of his contract have not been made known to the public, Riley is expected to be paid in excess of $10 million yearly as he takes on the huge task of transforming the Trojans’ fortunes this fall.
Prior to getting hired at USC, Riley spent five seasons as the Oklahoma Sooners head coach, where he became known as a quarterbacks guru.
Riley coaches back-to-back Heisman Trophy winners at the quarterback position in Baker Mayfield and Kyler Murray. Both QBs ended up becoming No. 1 overall picks in the NFL Draft.
In five seasons, Riley has put together an 84.6% win percentage and a 55-10 overall record. However, his teams have struggled during the postseason, going 1-4 in bowl games and 0-2 in the College Football Playoff.
3. Nick Saban, Alabama’s Head Coach: $9,753,221
Nick Saban remains the most successful head coach in the history of NCAA and sits as the third-highest paid coach.
Saban’s contract reveals a basic salary of $9 million per year, with several incentives taking the total to over $9.75 million for 2021.
The incentives in the contract have undoubtedly worked magic, with Saban leading his team to seven out of a possible eight appearances since the inception of the CFB Playoffs.
Arguably college football’s most recognizable head coach, Saban owns a 269-67-1 record in the NCAA, including an 18-11 record in bowl games.
He has also guided two different schools (LSU and Alabama) to a combined seven national championships, including six national titles with the Crimson Tide.
4. Brian Kelly, LSU’s Head Coach: $9,500,000
Brian Kelly ranks fourth on the list of the highest paid college football head coaches.
After having success at Notre Dame, Kelly was rewarded with a 10-year, $95 million contract that will pay him $9.5 million per year.
However, there is more to the contract than just the numbers as the former Notre Dame head coach can earn a massive bonus if he is able to bring success back to the Bayou.
Kelly owns a 166-62 record as a head coach, including a 7-6 record in bowl games. However, his winning percentage has dipped to .538 while coaching at major schools.
5. Mel Tucker, Michigan State’s Head Coach: $9,500,000
Mel Tucker was able to deliver the most successful season for Michigan State Spartans since 2015 in 2021.
The passionate coach got a reward in the contract that has helped him to rank as one of the highest paid coaches in college football.
He has a 10-year contract as well as another $3.6 million from media appearances, apparel, and a $400k bonus.
Tucker was the interim head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars for the final five games of the 2011 season.
Before becoming the head coach at Michigan State, Tucker spent time as an assistant coach at Alabama and Georgia. He also went 5-7 in his lone season as the head coach of the Colorado Buffaloes in 2019.
6. Ryan Day, Ohio State’s Head Coach: $9,500,000
The extension of Ryan Day’s contract through 2028 shot up his earnings to a massive $9.5 million yearly.
The Ohio State coach averaged $7.6 million per year in earnings prior to the contract extension.
The move can be rightly described as a reward for a 34-4 record and winning the Big Ten Championship twice since he became the Buckeye’s head coach in December 2018.
Under Day, Ohio State won the Rose Bowl 48-45 over Utah last season and defeated No. 2-ranked Clemson in the Sugar Bowl in 2021.
While Day owns a 2-2 record in bowl games, Ohio State is just 1-2 in three games during the College Football Playoff during his tenure at Ohio State.
7. David Shaw, Stanford’s Head Coach: $8,925,000
David Lorenzo Shaw used to be the team’s offensive coordinator for the entire tenure of head coach Jim Harbaugh from 2007 to 2010.
He was also a four-year letter winner playing as a wide receiver for the Cardinal from 1991 to 1994, where he was coached by NFL legends Bill Walsh and Dennis Green.
Shaw enters the 2022 season with a career 93-45 overall record as a head coach, including a 5-3 record in bowl games.
While Stanford has fallen on tough times of late, Shaw is only the second Cardinal head coach with two Rose Bowl victories and the first in more than 80 years with two conference titles.
Before to returning to Stanford, Shaw was Harbaugh’s passing game coordinator at the University of San Diego and an assistant coach in the NFL for the Philadelphia Eagles, Oakland Raiders, and Baltimore Ravens.
8. Dabo Swinney, Clemson’s Head Coach: $8,370,775
William Christopher “Dabo” Swinney also ranks as one of the top ten highest paid football coaches.
Swinney cemented his name on this list thanks to his achievements since taking over midway through the 2008 season, following the resignation of Tommy Bowden.
Swinney has led the team to national championships in 2017 and 2019, trailing only Frank Howard for the most wins by a head coach in Clemson history.
Swinney owns a sparkling 150-36 record as a head coach, including a stellar 11-7 record in bowl games.
9. Mario Cristobal, Miami Hurricanes’ Head Coach: $8,000,000
Mario Manuel Cristobal was the head football coach at Florida International University (FIU) from 2007 to 2012 and the University of Oregon from 2017 to 2021.
On Dec. 6, 2021, Cristobal signed a 10-year, $80-million deal to become the head coach of his alma mater, the Miami Hurricanes.
Cristobal was popularly known as an all-conference offensive tackle on the Miami Hurricanes football team that won national championships in 1989 and 1991.
Now, Cristobal’s teams are known for wreaking havoc on the defensive side of the ball.
While he owns a mere 62-60 record as college football head coach and a 3-3 mark in bowl games, Cristobal has made a name for himself as one of the nation’s top recruiters.
At Oregon, he signed top-15 recruiting classes in three consecutive seasons, including No. 1 overall recruit and future No. 5 NFL Draft pick Kayvon Thibodeaux.
10. Jimbo Fisher, Texas A&M’s Head Coach: $7,500,000
John James “Jimbo” Fisher Jr. is a former player.
Prior to assuming the position as the head coach of the Texas A&M Aggies, he was at the helm of affairs at Florida State, winning the 2014 BCS National Championship Game during his reign.
Unlike some of his peers, Fisher has enjoyed success at nearly every stop. In 13 seasons as a head coach, he owns a strong 117-37 overall record, including an 8-2 record in bowl games.
Fischer won a national championship as an assistant under Nick Saban at LSU in 2003 and another as the head coach of Florida State in 2013.
After winning 78.3 percent of his games at Florida State, Fisher finished his tenure in Tallahassee with the highest winning percentage in school history.
Honorable Mention – Lane Kiffin, Ole Miss’ Head Coach: $7,250,000
Formerly on the top-10 list, Lane Kiffin is now the 11th-highest paid coach in the country following Smart’s new deal.
Prior to his first head coaching opportunity, Kiffin served as the offensive coordinator for the USC Trojans football team from 2005 to 2006. He was then hired as the head coach of the Oakland Raiders in the NFL from 2007 to 2008 before returning to the college ranks as head coach of the University of Tennessee Volunteers college football team in 2009.
At the time, he was the youngest head coach in modern NFL history when he joined the Raiders.
Kiffin has since bounced around, becoming the head coach of the Trojans from 2010 to 2013. He then joined the Alabama coaching staff before taking a head coaching job at Florida Atlantic University.
Today, Kiffin coaches the Ole Miss’ Rebels in the SEC Conference, where he led the school to its first 10-win regular season ever.
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