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. That includes the likes of Troy Calhoun (Air Force), Mark Richt (Miami), Clay Helton (USC), Jeff Monken (Army), Dino Barbers (Syracuse), Kalani Sitake (BYU), Geoff Collins (Temple), Matt Rhule (Baylor), and Willie Fritz (Tulane).
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 $11.132 million in 2018.
It’s Hard to say he’s not worth it. He’s got a 119-19 record in his 10 years with the Crimson Tide, and 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 Clemson’s Dabo Swinney, who just happens to be the only coach to defeat Saban and the Crimson Tide in a national championship game (2016).
Ranking College Football Head Coaching Salaries for 2018 Season
| Coach | School | Conference | Base Salary |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nick Saban | Alabama | SEC | $11,132,000 |
| Dabo Swinney | Clemson | ACC | $8,504,600 |
| Jim Harbaugh | Michigan | Big Ten | $7,004,000 |
| Urban Meyer | Ohio State | Big Ten | $6,431,240 |
| Rich Rodriguez | Arizona | Pac-12 | $5,631,563 |
| Jimbo Fisher | Florida State | ACC | $5,700,000 |
| David Shaw | Stanford | Pac-12 | $5,680,441 |
| Tom Herman | Texas | Big 12 | $5,486,316 |
| Gary Patterson | Texas Christian | Big 12 | $5,104,077 |
| Kevin Sumlin | Texas A&M | SEC | $5,000,000 |
| Gus Malzahn | Auburn | SEC | $4,725,000 |
| James Franklin | Penn State | Big Ten | $4,600,000 |
| Kirk Ferentz | Iowa | Big Ten | $4,550,000 |
| Dan Mullen | Mississippi State | SEC | $4,500,000 |
| Jim McElwain | Florida | SEC | $4,457,400 |
| Mark Dantonio | Michigan State | Big Ten | $4,380,492 |
| Bret Bielema | Arkansas | SEC | $4,200,000 |
| Mike Gundy | Oklahoma State | Big 12 | $4,200,000 |
| Chris Petersen | Washington | Pac-12 | $4,125,000 |
| Butch Jones | Tennessee | SEC | $4,110,000 |
| Bobby Petrino | Louisville | ACC | $3,930,434 |
| Mark Stoops | Kentucky | SEC | $3,750,000 |
| Kirby Smart | Georgia | SEC | $3,753,600 |
| Kyle Whittingham | Utah | Pac-12 | $3,687,917 |
| Jim Mora | UCLA | Pac-12 | $3,550,000 |
| Dana Holgorsen | West Virginia | Big 12 | $3,505,000 |
| Kliff Kingsbury | Texas Tech | Big 12 | $3,503,975 |
| P.J. Fleck | Minnesota | Big Ten | $3,500,000 |
| Ed Orgeron | LSU | SEC | $3,500,000 |
| Bronco Mendenhall | Virginia | ACC | $3,400,000 |
| Jeff Brohm | Purdue | Big Ten | $3,333,333 |
| Pat Fitzgerald | Northwestern | Big Ten | $3,305,818 |
| Justin Fuente | Virginia Tech | ACC | $3,250,000 |
| Todd Graham | Arizona State | Pac-12 | $3,200,000 |
| Bill Snyder | Kansas State | Big 12 | $3,200,000 |
| Paul Chryst | Wisconsin | Big Ten | $3,200,000 |
| Will Muschamp | South Carolina | SEC | $3,100,000 |
| Mike Leach | Washington State | Pac-12 | $3,075,000 |
| Lovie Smith | Illinois | Big Ten | $3,000,000 |
| Paul Johnson | Georgia Tech | ACC | $2,970,891 |
| Willie Taggart | Oregon | Pac-12 | $2,900,000 |
| Mike Riley | Nebraska | Big Ten | $2,900,000 |
| Mike MacIntyre | Colorado | Pac-12 | $2,803,500 |
| Derek Mason | Vanderbilt | SEC | $2,721,834 |
| Gary Andersen | Oregon State | Pac-12 | $2,650,000 |
| David Cutcliffe | Duke | ACC | $2,613,638 |
| DJ Durkin | Maryland | Big Ten | $2,462,000 |
| Steve Addazio | Boston College | ACC | $2,448,949 |
| Barry Odom | Missouri | SEC | $2,350,000 |
| Larry Fedora | North Carolina | ACC | $2,290,000 |
| Dave Doeren | North Carolina State | ACC | $2,212,600 |
| Lincoln Riley | Oklahoma | Big 12 | $2,116,666 |
| Chris Ash | Rutgers | Big Ten | $2,100,000 |
| Matt Campbell | Iowa State | Big 12 | $2,100,000 |
| Chad Morris | Southern Methodist | AAC | $2,095,793 |
| Ken Niumatalolo | Navy | AAC | $2,000,000 |
| Scott Frost | Central Florida | AAC | $2,000,000 |
| Luke Fickell | Cincinnati | AAC | $1,900,000 |
| Mike Norvell | Memphis | AAC | $1,860,000 |
| Tom Allen | Independentiana | Big Ten | $1,830,000 |
| Pat Narduzzi | Pittsburgh | ACC | $1,827,735 |
| Dave Clawson | Wake Forest | ACC | $1,827,370 |
| Major Applewhite | Houston | AAC | $1,750,000 |
| Brian Kelly | Notre Dame | Independent | $1,645,867 |
| David Beaty | Kansas | Big 12 | $1,601,109 |
| Justin Wilcox | California | Pac-12 | $1,600,000 |
| Bryan Harsin | Boise State | MWC | $1,550,004 |
| Jeff Tedford | Fresno State | MWC | $1,550,000 |
| Mike Bobo | Colorado State | MWC | $1,550,000 |
| Craig Bohl | Wyoming | MWC | $1,412,000 |
| Philip Montgomery | Tulsa | AAC | $1,398,038 |
| Matt Luke | Mississippi | SEC | $1,160,000 |
| Mark Hudspeth | Louisiana-Lafayette | Sun Belt | $1,150,000 |
| Frank Wilson | Texas-San Antonio | C-USA | $1,137,500 |
| Scottie Montgomery | East Carolina | AAC | $1,050,000 |
| Matt Wells | Utah State | MWC | $1,050,000 |
| Charlie Strong | South Florida | AAC | $1,000,000 |
| Randy Edsall | Connecticut | AAC | $1,000,000 |
| Seth Littrell | North Texas | C-USA | $991,416 |
| Lane Kiffin | Florida Atlantic | C-USA | $950,000 |
| Butch Davis | Florida International | C-USA | $900,000 |
| Rocky Long | San Diego State | MWC | $826,304 |
| Bob Davie | New Mexico | MWC | $822,690 |
| Rick Stockstill | Middle Tennessee | C-USA | $801,504 |
| Tim Lester | Western Michigan | MAC | $800,000 |
| Mike Sanford Jr. | Western Kentucky | C-USA | $800,000 |
| Neal Brown | Troy | Sun Belt | $800,000 |
| David Bailiff | Rice | C-USA | $772,883 |
| Doc Holliday | Marshall | C-USA | $762,570 |
| Blake Anderson | Arkansas State | Sun Belt | $750,000 |
| Skip Holtz | Louisiana Tech | C-USA | $700,000 |
| Jason Candle | Toledo | MAC | $700,000 |
| Scott Satterfield | Appalachian State | Sun Belt | $675,000 |
| Everett Withers | Texas State | Sun Belt | $675,000 |
| Bobby Wilder | Old Dominion | C-USA | $650,000 |
| Bill Clark | Alabama at Birmingham | C-USA | $630,000 |
| Brad Lambert | Charlotte | C-USA | $625,000 |
| Rod Carey | Northern Illinois | MAC | $623,000 |
| Tony Sanchez | Nevada-Las Vegas | MWC | $600,000 |
| Brent Brennan | San Jose State | MWC | $581,916 |
| Joey Jones | South Alabama | Sun Belt | $535,260 |
| Shawn Elliott | Georgia State | Sun Belt | $565,000 |
| John Bonamego | Central Michigan | MAC | $545,640 |
| Tyson Summers | Georgia Southern | Sun Belt | $530,000 |
| Frank Solich | Ohio | MAC | $522,715 |
| Chuck Martin | Miami (Ohio) | MAC | $522,300 |
| Sean Kugler | Texas-El Paso | C-USA | $515,332 |
| Jay Hopson | Southern Mississippi | C-USA | $500,000 |
| Mark Whipple | Massachusetts | Independent | $472,654 |
| Jay Norvell | Nevada | MWC | $450,000 |
| Paul Petrino | Idaho | Sun Belt | $446,214 |
| Chris Creighton | Eastern Michigan | MAC | $442,420 |
| Mike Neu | Ball State | MAC | $431,375 |
| Mike Jinks | Bowling Green | MAC | $428,655 |
| Paul Haynes | Kent State | MAC | $414,030 |
| Terry Bowden | Akron | MAC | $411,000 |
| Lance Leipold | Buffalo | MAC | $405,500 |
| Nick Rolovich | Hawaii | MWC | $400,008 |
| Joe Moglia | Coastal Carolina | Sun Belt | $400,000 |
| Matt Viator | Louisiana-Monroe | Sun Belt | $390,000 |
| Doug Martin | New Mexico State | Sun Belt | $376,044 |
| Troy Calhoun | Air Force | MWC | |
| Mark Richt | Miami (Fla.) | ACC | |
| Clay Helton | Southern California | Pac-12 | |
| Jeff Monken | Army | Independent | |
| Dino Babers | Syracuse | ACC | |
| Kalani Sitake | Brigham Young | Independent | |
| Geoff Collins | Temple | AAC | |
| Matt Rhule | Baylor | Big 12 | |
| Willie Fritz | Tulane | AAC |
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 earning over $2.5 million more than the second highest paid coach.
| Conference | Average Base Salary |
|---|---|
| SEC | $4,175,702.43 |
| Big Ten | $3,756,920.21 |
| Pac-12 | $3,536,674.64 |
| Big 12 | $3,424,127.00 |
| ACC | $3,414,684.75 |
| AAC | $1,605,383.10 |
| Independent | $1,059,260.50 |
| MWC | $981,174.73 |
| C-USA | $766,871.79 |
| Sun Belt | $607,709.83 |
| MAC | $520,552.92 |
Check out coaches in other sports: