Kenny Dillingham is no longer one of the lowest paid coaches in the Big 12.
After leading Arizona State to the Big 12 championship and a berth in the College Football Playoff, Dillingham was reportedly rewarded with a new 5-year contract on Tuesday. According to ESPN’s Pete Thamel, the new deal will catapult Dillingham into the “top tier of Big 12 coaching salaries.”
Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy was the highest-paid Big 12 football coach coming into the season at $7.75 million.
Dillingham, one of the youngest coaches in the country at 34 years old, made $3.95 million in base salary this season, which ranked 11th out of the 13 public schools in the Big 12. Dillingham has tacked on at least $2.56 million in bonuses, and can earn even more if Arizona State beats Texas in the Peach Bowl on Wednesday.
Dillingham’s new contract reportedly has incentives that could extend the deal to 10 years. Arizona state law currently limits state college contracts to five years.
Dillingham’s new deal comes a little over a month after Arizona State gave new three-year contracts to offensive coordinator Marcus Arroyo and defensive coordinator Brian Ward. Their deals will reportedly pay them more than one million dollars per year.
Dillingham led Arizona State to one of the most improbable seasons in college football history, going 11-2 and winning the Big 12 title. The Sun Devils were picked to finish last in the conference and were given +10,000 to win the Big 12 when the season started. ASU winning the Big 12 is the sixth-greatest upset in betting history, just behind the Boston Red Sox winning the World Series in 2004 (+12,000).
No. 4 Arizona State (11-2) faces No. 5 Texas (12-2) on New Year’s Day in the College Football Playoff quarterfinals. The game is scheduled to kick off at 11 a.m. MST.
Texas coach Steve Sarkisian is third-highest-paid college football coach in the country at $10.6 million per year.
Here’s a look at the highest-paid football coaches in the Big 12 coming into the season:
Highest-Paid Big 12 Football Coaches
1. Mike Gundy, Oklahoma State – $7.75 million
2. Lance Leipold, Kansas – $7.5 million
3. Kyle Whittingham, Utah – $6.525 million
4. Deion Sanders, Colorado – $5.7 million
5. Chris Klieman, Kansas State – $5.25 million
6. Sonny Dykes, TCU – $5,008,414 million
7. Dave Aranda, Baylor – $4,540,885 million
8. Willie Fritz, Houston – $4.5 million
9. Joey McGuire, Texas Tech – $4,247,960
10. Matt Campbell, Iowa State – $4,009,886 million
11. Neal Brown, West Virginia – $4 million
12. Gus Malzahn, UCF – $4 million
13. Kenny Dillingham, Arizona State – $3.95 million
14. Scott Satterfield, Cincinnati – $3.6 million
15. Brent Brennan, Arizona – $3.1 million
More Arizona State & Big 12 Analysis
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