The Highest Paid College Football Coaches

Random Celebrity Article By Brian Warner on August 29, 2012

Who are the highest paid college football coaches? College football coaches are some of the most highly paid and powerful people in the world of academia and sports in general. The ten highest paid college football coaches make more money than 70% of their NFL counterparts. There are only two NFL coaches who make more money than the #1 highest paid college football coach, and that same coach is paid more than bottom four NFL coach's salaries COMBINED. But how much do the top college coaches make per year today? Scroll down to see the most recent figures for over 50 active coaches…

Nick Saban - Highest Paid Coach

College football coaches are an interesting breed. In addition to being very rich and highly paid, college coaches often wield extreme power and influence over their institution. In fact, college coaches wield significantly more power than an NFL coach has over his franchise. This power imbalance exists because of the nature of college sports. A college coach is responsible for recruiting and grooming young talent for successful future professional careers. Attracting highly talented players allows a school to reap the huge financial benefits of having a winning team. In 2011, football revenues for the University of Texas were $94 million which equated to nearly $70 million in profits for the school. Moreover, a single bad choice by a high school prospect can be the difference between playing in the NFL and watching the NFL. By the time a player reaches the NFL, the actual coach he plays for has very little impact on his future career. No matter how much the fans and players love Pittsburgh's Mike Tomlin, if he was replaced tomorrow the overall Steeler program wouldn't skip much of a beat. The same can not be said of someone like Nick Saban at Alabama or any of the other men on our list of highest paid college football coaches. If Saban left, the entire program, which made $70 million in 2011, would be destroyed. So maybe now you understand why these guys command such high salaries:

Highest Paid College Coaches:

#1: Nick Saban – (Alabama) $5.62 million (Will be $6m by 2017)
#2: Mack Brown (Texas) $5.2 million
#3: Bob Stoops (Oklahoma) $4.5 million
#4: Urban Meyer (Ohio State) $4 million
#5: Les Miles (LSU) $3.8 Million
#6: Kirk Ferentz (University of Iowa) $3.78 Million
#7: Bobby Petrino (Arkansas) $3.6 Million
#8: Gene Chizik (Auburn) $3.5 Million
#9: Brady Hoke (University of Michigan) $3.23 Million
#10: Will Muschamp (University of Florida) $3.2 Million
#11: Jim Grobe (Wake Forest) $3 Million
#12: Mark Richt (University of Georgia) $2.9 Million
#13: Steve Spurrier (University of South Carolina) $2.8 Million
#14: Chip Kelly (University of Oregon) $2.8 Million
#15: Bo Pelini (University of Nebraska) $2.775 Million
#16: Houston Nutt (University of Mississippi) $2.771 Million
#17: Jimbo Fisher (Florida State University) $2.75 Million
#18: Gary Pinkel (University of Missouri) $2.7 Million
#19: Bret Bielema (University of Wisconsin-Madison) $2.6 Million
#20: Rich Rodriguez (University of Arizona) $2.5 Million
#21: Dan Mullen (Mississippi State) $2.5 Million
#22: Bret Bielema (Wisconsin) $2.5 Million
#23: Lane Kiffin (University of Southern California) $2.4 Million
#24: Paul Johnson (Georgia Tech) $2.36 Million
#25: Jeff Tedford (California) $2.3 Million
#26: Charlie Strong (Louisville) $2.3 Million
#27: Greg Schiano (Rutgers) $2.3 Million
#28: Derek Dooley (Tennessee) $2.29 Million
#29: Steve Sarkisian (Washington) $2.25 Million
#30: Frank Beamer (Virginia Tech) $2.24 Million
#31: Mike Sherman (Texas A&M) $2.2 Million
#32: June Jones (SMU) $2.14 Million
#33: Mike Gundy (Oklahoma State) $2.1 Million
#34: Turner Gill (Kansas) $2.1 Million
#35: Tommy Tuberville (Texas Tech) $2.06 Million
#36: Randy Edsall (Maryland) $2.01 Million
#37: Gary Patterson (TCU) $2.01 Million
#38: Bill Snyder (Kansas State) $1.92 Million
#39: Mark Dantonio (Michigan State) $1.91 Million
#40: Tom O'Brien (NC State) $930k base + $945k bonus = $1.87 Million
#41: Dabo Swinney (Clemson) $1.84 Million
#42: Mike London (Virginia) $1.79 Million
#43: Ron Zook (Illinois) $1.75 Million
#44: Joker Phillips (Kentucky) $1.7 Million
#45: Jerry Kill (Minnesota) $1.7 Million
#46: Skip Holtz (USF) $1.7 Million
#47: Kyle Whittingham (Utah) $1.7 Million
#48: Art Briles (Baylor) $1.54 Million
#49: Ken Niumatalolo (Navy) $1.53 Million
#50: Chris Petersen (Boise State) $1.52 Million
#51: Dennis Erickson (Arizona State) $1.5 Million
#52: Paul Pasqualoni (Connecticut) $1.5 Million
#53: Dana Holgorsen (West Virginia) $1.49 Million

Bonus:

Jim Tressel (former Ohio State) was making $3.5 million
Joe Paterno (Penn State) $1 million

Brian Warner

Prior to launching Celebrity Net Worth, Brian spent seven years as the Managing Editor of one of the largest entertainment portals on the internet. Before that, Brian attended Georgetown University where he double majored in finance and marketing. A native of Northern California, Brian currently resides in Los Angeles. Follow him on Google+.

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