The Highest-Paid College Football Coaches

Drown 'em Tide! University of Alabama's head coach, Nick Saban, has something to cheer about this year -- according to USA Today he's the highest-earning college football coach in America, with a whopping annual salary of $5.9 million.

In contrast, the nation's highest paid college president earned $2.8 million for the 2008-2009 school year.

USA Today crunched numbers with the help of Stinson Morrison Hecker LLP and the National Sports Law Institute of Marquette University Law School. They evaluated 110 of 120 head football coaches in the country, including the recently resigned Urban Meyer, who stands to make more than $4 million from the University of Florida this year.

Below, see the 13 highest-paid football coaches based on their total compensation (some coaches are afforded lucrative maximum bonuses, which can increase their salary package by hundreds of thousands of dollars.) Check out USA Today for the full list.

Do you think such generous compensation is justified, or outrageous? Weigh in below.

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Nick Saban, University of Alabama

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Total compensation: $5,997,349

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Total compensation: $5,997,349

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Comments

[giono]

10:34 PM on 01/02/2011

And we wonder why our educational system is falling apart.....Priorities anyone ????

[ConsensusReality]

07:39 PM on 12/30/2010

America's college priorities on display here.

[Robert mccormick]

03:36 PM on 12/29/2010

I suppose Lame Kiffin's 4 million/year isn't worthy of Huffington Post.

[dbishop76]

05:34 PM on 12/28/2010

Mack Brown may be drawing unemployment after this season

[DarthCalvin]

01:34 PM on 12/30/2010

Nope...being that I live here in Austin, and am a UT alum, Mack isn't going anywhere...even with the dismal season this year. Greg (I'm stuck on the first page of the play book) Davis being gone, now that is an accomplishment the Burnt Orange Faithful have been praying for (or offering incense to what ever deity will listen)

[garyd63]

07:48 PM on 12/27/2010

In case this hasn't been posted already, less than 20 out of 120 of the Big Buck programs around the country made money in 2008 according to NCAA figures. (And why should they lie or fudge, they have a big dog in this smelly kennel.) Coaches salaries demonstrate perfectly what college sports is all about. It's not winning, it's not the rep, it's not the kids. It's about the corporate business of entertainment. College sports adds nothing, nada, zilch, to the educational mission of true universities. And please, save the boola, boola, b-s as being part of higher education. It isn't.

[PartyOfMaybe]

03:39 PM on 12/21/2010

Eat it Title IX. Look at all that money. Unfortunately, Women's Crew and Volleyball lost a combined $476,000 last year, money which could have been used to pay for a better coach for the football team, who could have won more games and made more money for the school.

[serenecj]

05:10 PM on 12/20/2010

I'm an alumna of the Univ. of AL & have been living in Tuscaloosa for 10 years. I have no problem with the high salaries as long as the coaches deserve them. Saban was hired, won games & that has benefited Tuscaloosa & surrounding cities. The company I work for laid off half (about 40 - 50) of our employees during 2008 but was able to hire back almost all of them following UA's 2008 & 2009 season because of contracts awarded to us for new & upgraded athletic facilities for all UA sports. Enrollment has increased which has lead to new campus buildings, retail shops, off-campus housing, etc. My company is just a small portion of the construction industry, so imagine how many other jobs have been saved & created because of this growth. Not to mention the hotels, restaurants and other retailers that benefit sufficiently from fans pouring into the city on gamedays. I see these coaches' salaries as investments that if successful can really do a world of good. I went to the school on a scholarship, yet myself, as well as many of my colleagues who did not attend college, have benefited from a sucessful football program.

Roll Tide !!!

[casanchez59]

08:47 PM on 12/17/2010

testing

[SangZe]

05:42 PM on 12/14/2010

Your tuition is paying for these guys, so you better start applying for bigger loans.

[Jelliott]

05:55 PM on 12/15/2010

They pay for themselves. Most college football programs are 'self-sufficient.' In fact, at the colleges w/ big programs (ie the ones mentioned above), football pays for itself plus all the other athletic programs. And some have money left over to go to the school.

[Fretchen]

04:16 AM on 12/16/2010

Exactly. The University of Florida's football program, for example, has financed the coaches, scholarships, and facilities for all other sports except men's basketball which is self sufficient.

To simply state it, there is no direct cost to the University of Florida, its students, or state tax payers for its athletic programs. Furthermore, the football program has also provided about $4 million per year over the last three years to the university's general fund. In this instance, the football program actually generates a profit for the university.

[DarthCalvin]

01:44 PM on 12/30/2010

Especially schools in BCS conferences...all that bowl money gets divided up between the conference schools (percentages vary between schools and conferences)

[NWBrunette]

11:19 AM on 12/14/2010

But make sure we give them all tax breaks, so... so... so... they'll go out and create jobs. Yeah, right.

[glockman]

11:41 AM on 12/19/2010

Apparently you have no clue just how many jobs a large university's football program creates.

[NWBrunette]

05:41 PM on 12/19/2010

Clearly you are unfamiliar with comprehension. It's a cool concept, usually taught in high school. Feel free to avail yourself.

[Demarcus Jackson]

01:26 AM on 12/12/2010

I'll add that if colleges are willing to pay coaches this much, and if students, parents, and fans are willing to put up with it, then I guess I shouldn't complain.

[Demarcus Jackson]

01:24 AM on 12/12/2010

I guess I could rant about the innate problems of coaches earning more than professors or even the President of the United States, but I will just shake my head in shame.

[healthanalyst]

02:18 AM on 12/14/2010

Base salaries are a lot lower. Kicker is, the get money from football camps (other coaches do the same thing, particularily basketball) and there are donations by alumni, money sort of as a bonus for winning streaks, ticket sales for alumni areas. Better the seats, more they charge. And there is enough of a waiting list its a gravy train. Its not all tax income.

UCLA basketball coach was highest paid state employee for years.

[KurtMichaelFriese]

08:54 PM on 12/27/2010

To paraphrase Babe Ruth, Jim Tressel had a better year than President Obama. ;-)

[DarthCalvin]

01:39 PM on 12/30/2010

Jim Tressel had a better year than most...I wonder what it will be like for him next year without his 5 suspended players that most likely will bail out to the NFL than sit out 5 games next year?

[skysailor]

01:00 AM on 12/12/2010

College sports brings in millions of $ then the NCAA goes nuts if some dirt poor kid who helps the college get all that $ gets money for groceries or some help with his Mom's rent.. Hypocrisy..

[ruffdeezy]

04:04 PM on 12/14/2010

So the rich schools should get all the good players right?

[Otari Giutashvili]

07:29 PM on 12/10/2010

Damn, the SEC coaches are making BANK!!!!

[thundermummy]

06:08 PM on 12/10/2010

Paterno built a library and gives lots of money back to the school. That's how it's done.

[exigent]

10:43 AM on 12/13/2010

why not the university pay him a million dollars less a year and build its own library and 5,000 scholarships?