College Football Coaching Pay Scale 2023 Data Out: Are They Worth It?

As one of the most respected conferences in the country, it’s no wonder that the SEC’s top-paid coaches are filled with SEC names.

College Football Coaching Pay Scale 2023 Data Out: Are They Worth It?

Some of their pay is based on tenure, some on recent achievement, and still others on both. As a spoiler, Alabama’s Nick Saban will earn the most money in the USA among coaches in 2023, earning $11.407 million for the Crimson Tide.

Saban has had a run of success in Tuscaloosa that few collegiate teams have seen, with Alabama winning six national championships since he took over the program in 2007.

In terms of SEC coaches, Saban is not alone at the top: Georgia’s Kirby Smart, who is setting the framework for a national powerhouse with back-to-back national titles entering this year, is third in the country with a salary of $10.706 million.

According to the most recent coaching compensation data released by USA Today, 26 D1 coaches earn at least $6 million each year.

Alabama’s Nick Saban leads the way with $11.407 million, followed by Dabo Swinney at $10.884 million and Kirby Smart at $10.705 million.

Below Saban and Smart are LSU’s Brian Kelly and Texas A&M’s Jimbo Fisher, who each earn $9.975 million and $9.15 million. Both of these coaches have lately become the focus of buyout rumors, owing to their respective schools’ troubles in 2023.

The SEC has nine of the top 20 coaches in the country, with Brent Venables entering Oklahoma bringing the total to ten. The conference’s lowest-paid coach is first-year Mississippi State coach Zach Arnett, who earns a tidy $3 million this year.

Nick Saban, Dabo Swinney, and Kirby Smart all deserve the money they’re earning based on the rings they have, and Ryan Day is definitely worth his $10.271 million compensation in 2023.

There are, however, some persons on the list who are ridiculously overpaid. Jimbo Fisher’s record at Texas A&M is 43-22, and he will make $9.15 million this season.

Mel Tucker was making a staggering $10.01 million before being sacked by Michigan State due to an alleged misbehaviour issue, while his record in East Lansing was a disappointing 20-14.

How about Kentucky paying Mark Stoops more than $9 million a year despite his 71-59 career record and two double-digit win seasons since 2013.

Billy Napier, who will earn $7.27 million this season, is another atrocious contract. In Gainesville, he had a 9-9 record. He earns over a million bucks for each of his Gators victories.

Lane Kiffin’s $9 million compensation is also debatable. In Oxford, he had a record of 27-14. Not terrible, but has he really done enough to be paid more than Jim Harbaugh’s $8.25 million salary?

Despite never winning an SEC West division championship or competing in the College Football Playoff, Kiffin earns more than Harbaugh.

So what do you think about which coach is overpaid?

 

 

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