Jimmy Boyd in 
This article takes a look at how much each head coach in college makes on a yearly basis. We don’t just cover the guys at the top of the list. We go looking for the salaries on all 130 FBS teams.
Unfortunately the private schools don’t have make this information public. Unless it shows up on a tax document or the number gets leaked, we won’t know the exact numbers. I was able to find some creditable sources for some of the private coaches, but not all of them.
All those I wasn’t able to find anything for, were thrown to the bottom of the list without a salary. They are not included in the conference averages.
Some contracts include incentives and bonuses beyond a base salary. If that compensation was not performance based (e.g. coach receives a bonus for making a bowl game), we have included it in their compensation for the season. This gets us closest to the number the school is actually paying their coach. I’d also note that some of these numbers are the average compensation per year as only the total contract was disclosed.
NCAA Football Head Coach Salary Breakdown
Dabo Swinney is now the highest paid coach in the country. He’ll earn around the same on average as Saban over the next several years of their contracts, but he received additional pay this year due to a contract extension that included some additional incentives.
It’s hard to argue against Swinney and Saban being the highest paid coaches. Clemson and Alabama have dominated the college football scene over the last decade. Since 2009, either Alabama or Clemson have won the NCAA Championship game in all but two seasons, and they’ve matched up against each other three times. Swinney is 2-1 in those head-to-head matchups against Saban, so it isn’t shocking to see Clemson reward him with the biggest contract in college football history.
Ranking College Football Head Coaching Salaries for 2019 Season
| Coach | School | Conference | Est. 2019 Compensation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dabo Swinney | Clemson | ACC | $10,250,000 |
| Nick Saban | Alabama | SEC | $8,700,000 |
| Jim Harbaugh | Michigan | Big Ten | $7,504,000 |
| Jimbo Fisher | Texas A&M | SEC | $7,500,000 |
| Gus Malzahn | Auburn | SEC | $6,705,656 |
| Kirby Smart | Georgia | SEC | $6,603,600 |
| Dan Mullen | Florida | SEC | $6,070,000 |
| Tom Herman | Texas | Big 12 | $5,500,000 |
| Scott Frost | Nebraska | Big Ten | $5,000,000 |
| Mike Gundy | Oklahoma State | Big 12 | $5,000,000 |
| Willie Taggart | Florida State | ACC | $5,000,000 |
| Lovie Smith | Illinois | Big Ten | $5,000,000 |
| Gary Patterson | Texas Christian | Big 12 | $4,840,717 |
| James Franklin | Penn State | Big Ten | $4,800,000 |
| Lincoln Riley | Oklahoma | Big 12 | $4,800,000 |
| Kirk Ferentz | Iowa | Big Ten | $4,700,000 |
| Ryan Day | Ohio State | Big Ten | $4,500,000 |
| Mark Dantonio | Michigan State | Big Ten | $4,390,417 |
| Chris Petersen | Washington | Pac-12 | $4,377,500 |
| David Shaw | Stanford | Pac-12 | $4,311,543 |
| Will Muschamp | South Carolina | SEC | $4,200,000 |
| Mark Stoops | Kentucky | SEC | $4,013,600 |
| Justin Fuente | Virginia Tech | ACC | $4,000,000 |
| Jeremy Pruitt | Tennessee | SEC | $3,846,000 |
| Jeff Brohm | Purdue | Big Ten | $3,800,000 |
| Kyle Whittingham | Utah | Pac-12 | $3,787,917 |
| Paul Chryst | Wisconsin | Big Ten | $3,750,000 |
| Kliff Kingsbury | Texas Tech | Big 12 | $3,703,975 |
| Pat Fitzgerald | Northwestern | Big Ten | $3,619,775 |
| Bronco Mendenhall | Virginia | ACC | $3,550,000 |
| P.J. Fleck | Minnesota | Big Ten | $3,550,000 |
| Chad Morris | Arkansas | SEC | $3,500,000 |
| Ed Orgeron | LSU | SEC | $3,500,000 |
| Matt Campbell | Iowa State | Big 12 | $3,500,000 |
| Mike Leach | Washington State | Pac-12 | $3,500,000 |
| Chris Klieman | Kansas State | Big 12 | $3,500,000 |
| Mack Brown | North Carolina | ACC | $3,500,000 |
| Chip Kelly | UCLA | Pac-12 | $3,300,000 |
| Geoff Collins | Georgia Tech | ACC | $3,300,000 |
| Scott Satterfield | Louisville | ACC | $3,250,000 |
| Neal Brown | West Virginia | Big 12 | $3,125,000 |
| Manny Diaz | Miami (Fla.) | ACC | $3,100,000 |
| Pat Narduzzi | Pittsburgh | ACC | $3,017,718 |
| Dave Doeren | North Carolina State | ACC | $3,000,000 |
| Matt Luke | Mississippi | SEC | $3,000,000 |
| Derek Mason | Vanderbilt | SEC | $2,812,523 |
| Les Miles | Kansas | Big 12 | $2,775,000 |
| Clay Helton | USC | Pac-12 | $2,625,965 |
| Mike Norvell | Memphis | AAC | $2,600,000 |
| Joe Moorhead | Mississippi State | SEC | $2,600,000 |
| David Cutcliffe | Duke | ACC | $2,540,928 |
| Steve Addazio | Boston College | ACC | $2,514,859 |
| Mario Cristobal | Oregon | Pac-12 | $2,500,000 |
| Mike Locksley | Maryland | Big Ten | $2,500,000 |
| Dino Babers | Syracuse | ACC | $2,401,206 |
| Mel Tucker | Colorado | Pac-12 | $2,400,000 |
| Barry Odom | Missouri | SEC | $2,350,000 |
| Chris Ash | Rutgers | Big Ten | $2,200,000 |
| Ken Niumatalolo | Navy | AAC | $2,163,000 |
| Brian Kelly | Notre Dame | Ind. | $2,129,638 |
| Luke Fickell | Cincinnati | AAC | $2,000,000 |
| Kevin Sumlin | Arizona | Pac-12 | $2,000,000 |
| Herm Edwards | Arizona State | Pac-12 | $2,000,000 |
| Rod Carey | Temple | AAC | $2,000,000 |
| Sonny Dykes | Southern Methodist | AAC | $2,000,000 |
| Jonathan Smith | Oregon State | Pac-12 | $1,900,008 |
| Dave Clawson | Wake Forest | ACC | $1,831,580 |
| Tom Allen | Indiana | Big Ten | $1,830,000 |
| Mike Bobo | Colorado State | Mt. West | $1,800,000 |
| Major Applewhite | Houston | AAC | $1,750,000 |
| Josh Heupel | Central Florida | AAC | $1,700,000 |
| Bryan Harsin | Boise State | Mt. West | $1,650,010 |
| Willie Fritz | Tulane | AAC | $1,629,000 |
| Jeff Tedford | Fresno State | Mt. West | $1,550,000 |
| Philip Montgomery | Tulsa | AAC | $1,518,177 |
| Justin Wilcox | California | Pac-12 | $1,500,000 |
| Hugh Freeze | Liberty | Ind. | $1,500,000 |
| Seth Littrell | North Texas | C-USA | $1,425,000 |
| Craig Bohl | Wyoming | Mt. West | $1,412,000 |
| Mike Houston | East Carolina | AAC | $1,300,000 |
| Jason Candle | Toledo | MAC | $1,125,000 |
| Frank Wilson | Texas-San Antonio | C-USA | $1,100,000 |
| Randy Edsall | Connecticut | AAC | $1,100,000 |
| Lane Kiffin | Florida Atlantic | C-USA | $1,000,000 |
| Charlie Strong | South Florida | AAC | $1,000,000 |
| Matt Rhule | Baylor | Big 12 | $1,000,000 |
| Mike Bloomgren | Rice | C-USA | $1,000,000 |
| Butch Davis | Florida International | C-USA | $945,000 |
| Bill Clark | UAB | C-USA | $900,000 |
| Rocky Long | San Diego State | Mt. West | $873,576 |
| Billy Napier | Louisiana-Lafayette | Sun Belt | $850,000 |
| Blake Anderson | Arkansas State | Sun Belt | $825,000 |
| Bob Davie | New Mexico | Mt. West | $823,740 |
| Rick Stockstill | Middle Tennessee | C-USA | $803,004 |
| Tim Lester | Western Michigan | MAC | $800,000 |
| Tyson Helton | Western Kentucky | C-USA | $800,000 |
| Jake Spavital | Texas State | Sun Belt | $800,000 |
| Doc Holliday | Marshall | C-USA | $762,570 |
| Eliah Drinkwitz | Appalachian State | Sun Belt | $750,000 |
| Skip Holtz | Louisiana Tech | C-USA | $700,000 |
| Dana Dimel | Texas-El Paso | C-USA | $700,000 |
| Will Healy | Charlotte | C-USA | $700,000 |
| Bobby Wilder | Old Dominion | C-USA | $654,667 |
| Chad Lunsford | Georgia Southern | Sun Belt | $650,000 |
| Jim McElwain | Central Michigan | MAC | $640,900 |
| Walt Bell | Massachusetts | Ind. | $625,000 |
| Steve Campbell | South Alabama | Sun Belt | $600,000 |
| Tony Sanchez | UNLV | Mt. West | $600,000 |
| Brent Brennan | San Jose State | Mt. West | $590,424 |
| Frank Solich | Ohio | MAC | $580,331 |
| Shawn Elliott | Georgia State | Sun Belt | $569,000 |
| Chuck Martin | Miami (Ohio) | MAC | $524,826 |
| Jay Hopson | Southern Mississippi | C-USA | $500,000 |
| Jay Norvell | Nevada | Mt. West | $500,000 |
| Thomas Hammock | Northern Illinois | MAC | $500,000 |
| Scot Loeffler | Bowling Green | MAC | $500,000 |
| Tom Arth | Akron | MAC | $500,000 |
| Nick Rolovich | Hawaii | Mt. West | $486,504 |
| Chris Creighton | Eastern Michigan | MAC | $460,000 |
| Lance Leipold | Buffalo | MAC | $455,500 |
| Sean Lewis | Kent State | MAC | $440,000 |
| Mike Neu | Ball State | MAC | $435,689 |
| Doug Martin | New Mexico State | Ind. | $419,640 |
| Matt Viator | Louisiana-Monroe | Sun Belt | $390,000 |
| Jamey Chadwell | Coastal Carolina | Sun Belt | $350,000 |
| Gary Anderson | Utah State | Mt. West | |
| Chip Lindsey | Troy | Sun Belt | |
| Troy Calhoun | Air Force | Mt. West | |
| Kalani Sitake | Brigham Young | Ind. | |
| Jeff Monken | Army | Ind. |
Average Salary by Conference
Coaches in the SEC are the most well-compensated in the nation, but the other major conferences are not that far behind, especially when you consider the SEC average is inflated with Saban and Swinney earning over $1 million more than the third-highest paid coach.
| Conference | Average Salary |
|---|---|
| SEC | $4,671,527.07 |
| Big Ten | $4,082,585.14 |
| Big 12 | $4,018,144.56 |
| ACC | $3,698,557.43 |
| Pac-12 | $2,890,119.42 |
| AAC | $1,656,267.70 |
| Mt. West | $1,016,932.18 |
| Ind. | $999,139.75 |
| C-USA | $840,083.92 |
| Sun Belt | $650,650.00 |
| MAC | $579,961.17 |
Check out coaches in other sports: