College football’s 10 highest paid head coaches for the 2023 season
It just pays more: Seven of college football’s 10 highest-paid coaches reside in the Southeastern Conference.
Georgia football head coach Kirby Smart has won back-to-back national championships, but he is not college football’s highest-paid coach for 2023. Smart does have the largest buyout of any college football coach by over $15 million. We don’t think he’s going anywhere anytime soon.
Five college coaches received over $10 million in compensation for 2023. All income, buyout and bonus compensation data is courtesy of USA TODAY Sports.
Who are college football’s 10 highest paid head coaches for the 2023 season (public institutions only)? Where does Georgia football’s Kirby Smart rank?
Lane Kiffin, Ole Miss
Total pay: $9,000,000
School buyout: N/A
2022-2023 bonuses paid: $450,000
Josh Heupel, Tennessee
Total pay: $9,000,000
School buyout: $46,500,000
2022-2023 bonuses paid: $400,000
Mark Stoops, Kentucky
Total pay: $9,013,600
School buyout: $51,187,500
2022-2023 bonuses paid: $150,000
Jimbo Fisher, Texas A&M
Total pay: $9,150,000
School buyout: $77,562,500
2022-2023 bonuses paid: $0
Brian Kelly, LSU
Total pay: $9,975,000
School buyout: $70,018,333
2022-2023 bonuses paid: $575,000
Mel Tucker, Michigan State
Total pay: $10,015,350
School buyout: N/A
2022-2023 bonuses paid: $0
Ryan Day, Ohio State
Total pay: $10,196,250
School buyout: $46,222,292
2022-2023 bonuses paid: $250,000
Kirby Smart, Georgia Bulldogs
Total pay: $10,505,600
School buyout: $92,625,000
2022-2023 bonuses paid: $1,350,000
Dabo Swinney, Clemson
Total pay: $10,884,775
School buyout: $64,000,000
2022-2023 bonuses paid: $500,000
Nick Saban, Alabama
Total pay: $11,107,000
School buyout: $44,800,000
2022-2023 bonuses paid: $300,000
All salary data is per USA TODAY Sports. Not included in the data are private institutions like USC, Notre Dame and Northwestern.
