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. That includes the likes of Clay Helton at USC, Matt Rhule at Baylor, Dino Babers at Syracuse and Chad Morris at SMU.
NCAA Football Head Coach Salary Breakdown
As you can see, the top dog on the list is none other than Alabama’s Nick Saban. He’s scheduled to bring in a staggering $11.125 million in 2017. Thanks in large part to a $4 million signing bonus on his new extension he signed.
Hard to say he’s not worth it. He’s got a 119-19 record in his 10 years with the Crimson Tide. That with a mere 7-6 mark in his first season on the job. Since that sub-par finish Alabama has won a minimum of 10 games each year. They have finished in the Top 10 in 9 consecutive seasons and have won 4 national championships (1 runner-up).
The only one even close to Saban is Michigan’s Jim Harbaugh at just over $9 million. Not to far back of Harbaugh, is his new rival in Ohio State’s Urban Meyer just under $6.1 million.
While the Big 10 has 2 of the top 3 highest paid coaches, the SEC dominates the top half of this list. Out of the 14 schools that make up the conference, 11 are in the Top 30. The lowest ranked is Missouri’s Barry Odom at No. 48 making $2.35 million.
Ranking College Football Head Coaching Salaries for 2017 Season
| Rank | Coach | School | Conference | Base Salary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nick Saban | Alabama | SEC | $11,125,000 |
| 2 | Jim Harbaugh | Michigan | Big Ten | $9,004,000 |
| 3 | Urban Meyer | Ohio St | Big Ten | $6,094,800 |
| 4 | Jimbo Fisher | Florida St | ACC | $5,250,000 |
| 5 | Tom Herman | Texas | Big 12 | $5,250,000 |
| 6 | Kevin Sumlin | Texas A&M | SEC | $5,000,000 |
| 7 | Gus Malzahn | Auburn | SEC | $4,729,500 |
| 8 | Hugh Freeze | Mississippi | SEC | $4,703,500 |
| 9 | James Franklin | Penn St | Big Ten | $4,500,000 |
| 10 | Kirk Ferentz | Iowa | Big Ten | $4,500,000 |
| 11 | Dabo Swinney | Clemson | ACC | $4,422,700 |
| 12 | Mark Dantonio | Michigan St | Big Ten | $4,300,000 |
| 13 | Jim McElwain | Florida | SEC | $4,268,325 |
| 14 | Dan Mullen | Mississippi St | SEC | $4,200,000 |
| 15 | Bret Bielema | Arkansas | SEC | $4,145,000 |
| 16 | Butch Jones | Tennessee | SEC | $4,110,000 |
| 17 | David Shaw | Stanford | Pac-12 | $4,067,219 |
| 18 | Gary Patterson | TCU | Big 12 | $4,014,723 |
| 19 | Mark Richt | Miami (FL) | ACC | $4,000,000 |
| 20 | Bobby Petrino | Louisville | ACC | $3,910,434 |
| 21 | Mike Gundy | Oklahoma St | Big 12 | $3,775,000 |
| 22 | Kirby Smart | Georgia | SEC | $3,753,600 |
| 23 | Kyle Whittingham | Utah | Pac-12 | $3,650,000 |
| 24 | Chris Petersen | Washington | Pac-12 | $3,605,847 |
| 25 | Mark Stoops | Kentucky | SEC | $3,513,600 |
| 26 | Ed Orgeron | LSU | SEC | $3,500,000 |
| 27 | P.J. Fleck | Minnesota | Big Ten | $3,500,000 |
| 28 | Jim Mora | UCLA | Pac-12 | $3,450,000 |
| 29 | Pat Fitzgerald | Northwestern | Big Ten | $3,350,638 |
| 30 | Kliff Kingsbury | Texas Tech | Big 12 | $3,306,575 |
| 31 | Willie Taggart | Oregon | Pac-12 | $3,300,000 |
| 32 | Jeff Brohm | Purdue | Big Ten | $3,300,000 |
| 33 | Bronco Mendenhall | Virginia | ACC | $3,275,000 |
| 34 | Justin Fuente | Virginia Tech | ACC | $3,200,000 |
| 35 | Bill Snyder | Kansas St | Big 12 | $3,106,000 |
| 36 | Todd Graham | Arizona St | Pac-12 | $3,103,438 |
| 37 | Lincoln Riley | Oklahoma | Big 12 | $3,100,000 |
| 38 | Will Muschamp | South Carolina | SEC | $3,002,500 |
| 39 | Dana Holgorsen | West Virginia | Big 12 | $2,980,000 |
| 40 | Mike Leach | Washington St | Pac-12 | $2,950,000 |
| 41 | Paul Johnson | Georgia Tech | ACC | $2,886,361 |
| 42 | Rich Rodriguez | Arizona | Pac-12 | $2,860,000 |
| 43 | Mike Riley | Nebraska | Big Ten | $2,800,000 |
| 44 | Paul Chryst | Wisconsin | Big Ten | $2,706,200 |
| 45 | Derek Mason | Vanderbilt | SEC | $2,556,877 |
| 46 | Gary Andersen | Oregon St | Pac-12 | $2,550,000 |
| 47 | DJ Durkin | Maryland | Big Ten | $2,412,000 |
| 48 | Barry Odom | Missouri | SEC | $2,350,000 |
| 49 | Steve Addazio | Boston College | ACC | $2,333,628 |
| 50 | David Cutcliffe | Duke | ACC | $2,320,773 |
| 51 | Luke Fickell | Cincinnati | AAC | $2,300,000 |
| 52 | Dave Doeren | NC State | ACC | $2,200,000 |
| 53 | Dave Clawson | Wake Forest | ACC | $2,113,166 |
| 54 | Mike MacIntyre | Colorado | Pac-12 | $2,011,450 |
| 55 | Ken Niumatalolo | Navy | AAC | $2,000,000 |
| 56 | Chris Ash | Rutgers | Big Ten | $2,000,000 |
| 57 | Matt Campbell | Iowa St | Big 12 | $2,000,000 |
| 58 | Larry Fedora | North Carolina | ACC | $1,986,265 |
| 59 | Justin Wilcox | California | Pac-12 | $1,900,000 |
| 60 | Lovie Smith | Illinois | Big Ten | $1,809,179 |
| 61 | Mike Norvell | Memphis | AAC | $1,800,000 |
| 62 | Tom Allen | Indiana | Big Ten | $1,800,000 |
| 63 | Scott Frost | UCF | AAC | $1,700,000 |
| 64 | Brian Kelly | Notre Dame | IND | $1,624,730 |
| 65 | Jeff Tedford | Fresno St | Mt. West | $1,600,000 |
| 66 | Major Applewhite | Houston | AAC | $1,500,000 |
| 67 | Kalani Sitake | BYU | IND | $1,500,000 |
| 68 | Mike Bobo | Colorado St | MWC | $1,450,000 |
| 69 | Philip Montgomery | Tulsa | AAC | $1,400,000 |
| 70 | Pat Narduzzi | Pittsburgh | ACC | $1,310,000 |
| 71 | Bryan Harsin | Boise St | MWC | $1,300,004 |
| 72 | Willie Fritz | Tulane | AAC | $1,200,000 |
| 73 | Mark Hudspeth | Louisiana-Lafayette | Sun Belt | $1,100,000 |
| 74 | Scottie Montgomery | East Carolina | ACC | $1,000,000 |
| 75 | Charlie Strong | South Florida | AAC | $1,000,000 |
| 76 | Randy Edsall | Connecticut | AAC | $1,000,000 |
| 77 | Lane Kiffin | FAU | C-USA | $950,000 |
| 78 | Jeff Monken | Army | Ind. | $932,521 |
| 79 | Craig Bohl | Wyoming | MWC | $909,000 |
| 80 | David Bailiff | Rice | C-USA | $903,556 |
| 81 | Butch Davis | FIU | C-USA | $900,000 |
| 82 | Troy Calhoun | Air Force | MWC | $885,000 |
| 83 | Frank Wilson | UTSA | C-USA | $835,000 |
| 84 | Bob Davie | New Mexico | MWC | $823,940 |
| 85 | Seth Littrell | North Texas | C-USA | $815,000 |
| 86 | Rocky Long | San Diego St | MWC | $810,632 |
| 87 | Rick Stockstill | Middle Tennessee | C-USA | $804,004 |
| 88 | David Beaty | Kansas | Big 12 | $801,109 |
| 89 | Matt Wells | Utah State | MWC | $800,000 |
| 90 | Tim Lester | Western Michigan | MAC | $800,000 |
| 91 | Mike Sanford Jr | Western Kentucky | C-USA | $800,000 |
| 92 | Doc Holliday | Marshall | C-USA | $765,320 |
| 93 | Blake Anderson | Arkansas St | Sun Belt | $700,000 |
| 94 | Jason Candle | Toledo | MAC | $675,000 |
| 95 | Neal Brown | Troy | Sun Belt | $660,000 |
| 96 | Bill Clark | UAB | C-USA | $650,000 |
| 97 | Everett Withers | Texas St | Sun Belt | $650,000 |
| 98 | Rod Carey | Northern Illinois | MAC | $625,500 |
| 99 | Brad Lambert | Charlotte | C-USA | $600,000 |
| 100 | Frank Solich | Ohio | MAC | $572,715 |
| 101 | Bobby Wilder | Old Dominion | C-USA | $569,590 |
| 102 | Joey Jones | South Alabama | Sun Belt | $560,000 |
| 103 | John Bonamego | Central Michigan | MAC | $545,940 |
| 104 | Scott Satterfield | Appalachian St | Sun Belt | $525,000 |
| 105 | Sean Kugler | UTEP | C-USA | $515,332 |
| 106 | Skip Holtz | Louisiana Tech | C-USA | $515,000 |
| 107 | Shawn Elliott | Georgia State | Sun Belt | $515,000 |
| 108 | Tony Sanchez | UNLV | MWC | $510,000 |
| 109 | Tyson Summers | Georgia Southern | Sun Belt | $500,000 |
| 110 | Jay Hopson | Southern Miss | C-USA | $500,000 |
| 111 | Chuck Martin | Miami (OH) | MAC | $472,300 |
| 112 | Mark Whipple | Massachusetts | Ind. | $469,215 |
| 113 | Chris Creighton | Eastern Michigan | MAC | $434,840 |
| 114 | Mike Neu | Ball State | MAC | $428,500 |
| 115 | Paul Petrino | Idaho | Sun Belt | $417,104 |
| 116 | Terry Bowden | Akron | MAC | $412,500 |
| 117 | Mike Jinks | Bowling Green | MAC | $410,000 |
| 118 | Paul Haynes | Kent State | MAC | $406,912 |
| 119 | Lance Leipold | Buffalo | MAC | $405,500 |
| 120 | Nick Rolovich | Hawaii | MWC | $400,008 |
| 121 | Matt Viator | ULM | Sun Belt | $390,000 |
| 122 | Doug Martin | New Mexico St | Sun Belt | $376,044 |
| 123 | Jay Norvell | Nevada | MWC | $250,000 |
| 124 | Joe Moglia | Coastal Carolina | Sun Belt | $175,000 |
| 125 | Geoff Collins | Temple | AAC | N/A |
| 126 | Brent Brennan | San Jose St | MWC | N/A |
| 127 | Matt Rhule | Baylor | Big 12 | N/A |
| 128 | Clay Helton | USC | Pac-12 | N/A |
| 129 | Dino Babers | Syracuse | ACC | N/A |
| 130 | Chad Morris | SMU | AAC | N/A |
Check out coaches in other sports: