Two of the highest-paid head coaches are set to play in the semifinals of the 2025 College Football Playoff.
The chase for a national championship is down to just four programs, with No. 5 Texas, No. 6 Penn State, No. 7 Notre Dame and No. 8 Ohio State rounding out the field for the semifinals. Based on the results of the quarterfinals, it will be the Longhorns facing the Buckeyes, and the Nittany Lions taking on the Fighting Irish.
The Texas-Ohio State matchup means that two of the biggest names in college football are going head-to-head. Steve Sarkisian and his Longhorns are set to play Ryan Day’s Buckeyes in a highly-anticipated matchup.
Sarkisian and Day belong in the top five of the highest-paid coaches in NCAA football. Both took home over $10 million in salary this season and have a chance at winning even more if a national championship can be won.
That’s not to say the Nittany Lions and the Fighting Irish don’t have expensive coaches either. Penn State’s James Franklin comes in at No. 14 on the list, making $8.5 million for the 2024 season, and Notre Dame’s Marcus Freeman ranks 29th with just over $6.6 million in 2024.
Here are the highest-paid coaches in college football.
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Highest-paid college football coaches
All salaries and rankings are according to USA Today’s salary database
No. 1: Kirby Smart, Georgia
- Salary: $13.28 million
Kirby Smart is the highest-paid coach in college football, taking home a whopping $13.28 million in salary at Georgia. That’s the reward for making the Bulldogs into a perennial powerhouse program and winning back-to-back national championships.
Georgia and Smart agreed to a new 10-year, $130 million extension in May of 2024 to keep him in Athens for a lengthy period of time.
No. 2: Dabo Swinney, Clemson
- Salary: $11.13 million
Dabo Swinney comes in at No. 2, making over $11 million at Clemson. The Tigers head coach signed a 10-year, $115 million contract extension in 2022, keeping him tied to the program through the 2031 season.
The Clemson head coach has two national championships and nine conference titles to his resume.
No. 3: Steve Sarkisian, Texas
- Salary: $10.6 million
Steve Sarkisian is one of the highest-paid football coaches at the NCAA level, making a cool $10.6 million per year. It’s a big jump from the $5.8 million he was set to originally make on his previous deal.
The Longhorns coach received a lucrative and lengthy extension ahead of the 2024 season. His new deal keeps him in Texas through 2030, and his salary is set to increase by $100,000 each year of the deal.
No. 4: Lincoln Riley, USC
- Salary: $10.04 million
Lincoln Riley comes in at No. 4, making over $10 million a season at USC. Since the university is private, it’s unclear exactly how long his 2021 deal is for, but there are reports that it is a 10-year deal worth $110 million.
No. 5: Ryan Day, Ohio State
- Salary: $10.02 million
Ryan Day rounds out the top five highest-paid head coaches with his $10.021 million payout for 2024. The Ohio State head coach is signed with the Buckeyes through the 2028 season after inking a two-year extension in 2022. His original deal was set for seven years before the extension.
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T-No. 6: Mike Norvell, Florida State
- Salary: $10 million
Despite a poor showing in 2024, Mike Norvell remains the head coach at Florida State. The boss of the Seminoles made $10 million in salary this season, the first year of an eight-year contract extension he signed last offseason.
T-No. 6: Kalen DeBoer, Alabama
- Salary: $10 million
Kalen DeBoer was named the successor of Nick Saban following the Alabama coaching legend’s retirement before the 2024 season. To bring DeBoer to Tuscaloosa from Washington, the university handed him an eight-year deal starting at $10 million a season in salary. That deal is expected to go up each year, growing to $11.75 million in his final season.
T-No. 6: Bill Belichick, UNC
- Salary: $10 million
Introducing the newest name to college football: Bill Belichick.
The former Patriots head coach did not sign with a team after he and New England parted ways, and while a return to the coaching sidelines was expected, no one anticipated it to be at the NCAA level.
The eight-time Super Bowl champion got a five-year deal worth $10 million a season; however, only three of those years are guaranteed.
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No. 9: Brian Kelly, LSU
- Salary: $9.98 million
Dropping off under $10 million a year, the first name is Brian Kelly, the head coach of LSU. The Tigers stunned the college football world by prying Kelly away from Notre Dame in 2021, signing him to a 10-year deal that keeps him in Baton Rough through 2031.
No. 10. Mark Stoops, Kentucky
- Salary: $9.01 million
Mark Stoops rounds out the top 10 with his $9.013 salary for the 2024 season. He signed a contract extension with Kentucky in 2022, keeping him tied to the program through the 2031 season.
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