Highest Paid College Football Head Coaches
As expected, college football’s top-paid coaches are mostly from the SEC with seven of the top ten coach placements. Georgia’s Kirby Smart leads the list taking the throne from Nick Saban, who earned upwards of $11.4 million in 2023.
Clemson’s Dabo Swinney is second on the list and is also the highest paid “non-SEC” head coach right ahead of Lincoln Riley of the USC.
The list shows the SEC’s financial power in college football, but also highlights standout coaches from other conferences worth taking notice of.
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Ranking Top 25 Highest Paid College Football Coaches
| Coach | College | Compensation |
|---|---|---|
| Kirby Smart | Georgia | $13M |
| Dabo Swinney | Clemson | $11.5M |
| Lincoln Riley | USC | $11M |
| Steve Sarkisian | Texas | $10.3M |
| Kalen DeBoer | Alabama | $10M |
| Mike Norvell | FSU | $9.8M |
| Brian Kelly | LSU | $9.5M |
| Ryan Day | Ohio State | $9.5M |
| Lane Kiffin | Ole Miss | $9M |
| Josh Heupel | Tennessee | $9M |
| Mark Stoops | Kentucky | $9M |
| James Franklin | Penn State | $8.5M |
| Brent Venables | Oklahoma | $8.2M |
| Mario Cristobal | Miami | $8M |
| Mike Gundy | Oklahoman State | $7.75M |
| Luke Fickell | Wisconsin | $7.6M |
| Billy Napier | Florida | $7.3M |
| Kirk Ferentz | Iowa | $7M |
| Dan Lanning | Oregon | $7M |
| Matt Rhule | Nebraska | $6.78M |
| Hugh Freeze | Auburn | $6.73M |
| Kyle Whittingham | Utah | $6.5M |
| Sam Pittman | Arkansas | $6.46M |
| Shane Beamer | South Carolina | $6.4M |
| Bret Bielema | Illinois | $6.2M |
