The college football season is here and the best teams in the country are ready to compete to make the College Football Playoff which has expanded to 12 teams this season. There is a lot of pressure on some of the top programs and the coaches get pa💞id en♌ough money to handle it. Check out the highest-paid coaches in college football.
Highest Paid College Football Coaches
Kirby Smart recently saw a boost in his salary to $13 million a season and stands as the highest-paid coach in college football. , who retired after last season, was the highest paid at $11.4 million for the 2023 season. Smart was making over $10 mil🅘lion last year but received a from Georgia in May. Check out the highest-paid coach🌃es in college football.
| Coach | School | Total Salary |
|---|---|---|
| Kirby Smart | Georgia | $13 million |
| Dabo Swinney | Clemson | $11.5 million |
| Lincoln Riley | USC | $11 million |
| Steve Sarkisian | Texas | $10.3 million |
| Kalen DeBoer | Alabama | $10 million |
| Mike Norvell | Florida State | $9.8 million |
| Brian Kelly | LSU | $9.5 million |
| Ryan Day | Ohio State | $9.5 million |
| Lane Kiffin | Ole Miss | $9 million |
| Josh Heupel | Tennessee | $9 million |
| Mark Stoops | Kentucky | $9 million |
| James Franklin | Penn State | $8.5 million |
| Brent Venables | Oklahoma | $8.2 million |
| Mario Cristobal | Miami | $8 million |
| Mike Gundy | Oklahoma State | $7.75 million |
| Luke Fickell | Wisconsin | $7.6 million |
| Billy Napier | Florida | $7.3 million |
| Kirk Ferentz | Iowa | $7 million |
| Dan Lanning | Oregon | $7 million |
| Matt Rhule | Nebraska | $6.78 million |
Coaching Records for Highest Paid Coaches
How have the top coaches performed in their careers and at their respective schools? Check out the♔ head coaching records at the FBS level for 🌜some of the top-paid coaches.
| Coach | School | Rec. With School | Overall |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kirby Smart | Georgia | 94-16 | 94-16 |
| Dabo Swinney | Clemson | 170-43 | 170-43 |
| Lincoln Riley | USC | 19-8 | 74-18 |
| Steve Sarkisian | Texas | 25-14 | 71-49 |
| Kalen DeBoer | Alabama | 0-0 | 27-9 |
| Mike Norvell | FSU | 31-17 | 69-32 |
| Brian Kelly | LSU | 20-7 | 165-69 |
| Ryan Day | Ohio St. | 56-8 | 56-8 |
| Lane Kiffin | OIe Miss | 34-15 | 96-49 |
| Josh Heupel | Tennessee | 27-12 | 55-20 |
| Mark Stoops | Kentucky | 73-65 | 73-65 |
| James Franklin | Penn St. | 88-39 | 112-54 |
National Titles for Highest-Paid Coaches
How many of the highest-paid coaches have won national titles? Check out what coaches have ma꧃de an appearance in the National Championship Game and how many have brought home a title.
| Coach | Current School | Title Appearances | National Title Wins |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kirby Smart | Georgia | 3 (2017, 2021, 2022) | 2 (2021, 2022) |
| Dabo Swinney | Clemson | 4 (2015, 2016, 2018, 2019) | 2 (2016, 2018) |
| Kalen DeBoer | Alabama | 1 (2023) | 0 |
| Brian Kelly | LSU | 1 (2012 – vacated) | 0 |
| Ryan Day | Ohio St. | 1 (2020) | 0 |
As you can see, it’s extremely difficult to reach the national championship in college football and tough to win it. It will be even harder beginning this season as teams will compete in a 12-team College Football Playoff at the end of the season to crown the best team in the country.
This also makes Nick Saban’s coaching career seem even more insane considering he won 7 national championships in his career. Saban’s first was in 2003 at LSU before he won 6 titles at Alabama in 2009, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2017, and 2020.
