The Highest-Paid College Football Coaches
Beyond the trophy and the notoriety that come with having the best team in college football, there are also financial rewards for the men who lead them, in the form of contract extensions and hefty raises. Each year, USA Today Sports requests head coach compensation forms from all 131 schools in the Football Bowl Subdivision. Find out just how much each of the top highest-paid coaches in college football earns and why success on the field can dictate a coach’s salary.
Factors Influencing Coaching Salaries
Several factors influence the compensation packages of college football coaches. These include:
- On-field success: A coach's ability to win games, secure conference titles, and advance to bowl games or the College Football Playoff (CFP) significantly impacts their salary.
- National recognition: Coaches who receive national coach of the year awards or guide their teams to top rankings often see their earnings increase.
- Recruiting prowess: A coach's ability to attract top talent to their program is a valuable asset that can lead to higher compensation.
- Conference affiliation: Coaches in major conferences like the SEC, Big Ten, and ACC typically earn more than their counterparts in smaller conferences.
- Market demand: The demand for a coach's services can drive up their salary, especially if multiple schools are interested in hiring them.
The Top 10 Highest-Paid College Football Coaches
Here are the Top 10 highest-paid active head coaches in the sport of college football by annual salary:
- Kirby Smart, Georgia Bulldogs: $13.28 million
- Lane Kiffin, LSU Tigers: $13 million
- Ryan Day, Ohio State Buckeyes: $12.58 million
- Curt Cignetti, Indiana Hoosiers: $11.6 million
- Lincoln Riley, USC Trojans: $11.54 million
- Dabo Swinney, Clemson Tigers: $11.45 million
- Mike Elko, Texas A&M Aggies: Approximately $11 million
- Steve Sarkisian, Texas Longhorns: $10.8 million
- Eli Drinkwitz, Missouri Tigers: $10.75 million
- Dan Lanning, Oregon Ducks: $10.6 million
The SEC leads the way with five coaches on this list, the Big Ten trailing right behind at four, and the ACC with just one.
A Closer Look at the Top Coaches
Kirby Smart (Georgia Bulldogs): Smart just finished his 10th season in Athens and earns $13 million annually after signing a 10-year extension in May 2024.
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Lane Kiffin (LSU Tigers): The 'villain' of college football, 50-year-old Kiffin is embarking on his fifth collegiate head-coaching job. He started with the Tennessee Volunteers in 2009, USC from 2010-13, Florida Atlantic Owls from 2017-19, and Ole Miss from 2020-25. Kiffin signed a seven-year contract with LSU worth $91 million. The deal includes an escalator that would make him the highest-paid coach if he wins a national championship and a clause where the Tigers' athletic department will pay Kiffin bonuses he would have earned from the Rebels' playoff appearance. The contract also includes an 80 percent buyout if he is fired without cause.
Ryan Day (Ohio State Buckeyes): Day has been in the coaching game for 22 years - seven years with the Buckeyes and five as the team’s head coach. After winning the 2025 National Championship, Ohio State rewarded him with an extension that lasts until 2031. With Day at the helm, Ohio State has achieved 23 consecutive wins in Big Ten games. Plus, they were the only program to qualify for the playoffs three times since 2019. Day has coached 18 first-team All-Americans, five Heisman Trophy finalists, and nine first-round NFL Draft picks, including three Ohio state starting quarterbacks since 2019. In 2019, Day became the first Ohio State coach in 40 years to earn the title of Big Ten Conference Coach of the Year.
Curt Cignetti (Indiana Hoosiers): The fastest riser on the list is Curt Cignetti, who recently signed his second extension in as many years with Indiana that will pay him $11.6 million a year.
Dabo Swinney (Clemson Tigers): Since 2009, Swinney has served as Clemson’s head coach, leading the Tigers to eight Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) championships and two CFP national titles. In 17 out of his 20 seasons coaching at Clemson, a Tiger wide receiver earned All-ACC status. Swinney has taken home national coach of the year honors from at least one organization in five of the past nine years.
Dan Lanning (Oregon Ducks): As for Lanning, Oregon is his first job at the top of the helm. He has made an immediate splash over the last four seasons from 2022-25. The only 39-year-old has never had fewer than 10 wins and currently has an overall record of 46-7 (the exact same record that Chip Kelly had in his first four seasons with the Ducks). With his fourth straight 10-win season in 2025, Lanning received a contract incentive through the university's athletic department that pushes his deal through the 2031 season.
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College Football Coach Salary vs. Revenue
Even though colleges do not always make money from athletics, high-achieving football programs in large conferences rake in a ton of profit. Revenue combines contributions from alumni, sports camps, state and government support, ticket sales, and signage and other sponsorships. Since the 1800s, football has by far been the top-earning college sport. On average, a university will bring in more revenue from football than it will from the next 35 most-profitable sports combined. The universities with the highest-paid coaches in college football collectively made over $543 million in the 2021-2022 season. Even after factoring in team expenses, from equipment to recruitment efforts, coaches are still paid out in a big way.
Salaries of Top College Football Coaches vs. Team Revenue
| Coach | School | Pay | Total Team Revenue | Salary as Percent of Revenue |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Georgia | Kirby Smart | $13.28M | $155.95M | 8.52% |
| LSU | Lane Kiffin | $13.0M | N/A | N/A |
| Ohio State | Ryan Day | $12.58M | $109.18M | 11.52% |
| Indiana | Curt Cignetti | $11.6M | N/A | N/A |
| USC | Lincoln Riley | $11.54M | N/A | N/A |
| Clemson | Dabo Swinney | $11.45M | $68.91M | 16.62% |
| Texas A&M | Mike Elko | $11.0M | N/A | N/A |
| Texas | Steve Sarkisian | $10.8M | N/A | N/A |
| Missouri | Eli Drinkwitz | $10.75M | N/A | N/A |
| Oregon | Dan Lanning | $10.6M | N/A | N/A |
Note: The most recent available data for team revenue is from 2021, while the most recent salary information is from 2025.
Coaching Bonuses and Incentives
A college football coach typically has a unique contract that lays out the base salary, supplemental compensation - essentially, the money a coach can make from using their name, image, or likeness for sponsorship deals or apparel contracts - and last but not least, bonuses and incentives. There are hundreds of different ways a coach can earn bonuses. Coaches can earn extra cash for bowl game appearances and wins, coach of the year recognition, increases in game attendance or season ticket purchases, and even team academic performance.
For example, if Nick Saban, head coach of the Alabama Crimson Tide, wins the SEC championship, he will make an additional $125,000. If Brian Kelly’s LSU Tigers score a high enough Academic Progress Rate (APR), he can cash in an additional $50,000. And if Mel Tucker’s team brought home the national championship trophy, he would rake in an extra $500,000. But even the highest-paid college football coaches are only actually making a fraction of their potential bonuses. Jim Harbaugh, head coach of the Michigan Wolverines, earned the highest bonus of any college football coach this season at $2.2 million.
Coaching Changes and Buyouts
The college football coaching carousel is always spinning, and this off-season is no exception. A record 5 SEC football coaches were fired in 2025: Sam Pittman (Arkansas), Billy Napier (Florida), Brian Kelly (LSU), Hugh Freeze (Auburn) and Mark Stoops (Kentucky). A 6th coaching change occurred when Lane Kiffin jumped from Ole Miss to LSU. Three ACC coaches were fired this cycle: Virginia Tech fired Brent Pry, triggering his buyout. Four Big Ten coaches were fired during this cycle. UCLA fired DeShaun Foster early in the season. On Oct. 12, 2025, Penn State fired James Franklin, triggering his buyout. Buyouts are a big topic of discussion in college football these days.
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