2024 NCAA football head coach salaries methodology
To determine the total pay packages of the 134 Football Bowl Subdivision head coaches for their current contract years, Paste BN Sports requested all forms of compensation for the coach from all public schools and obtained federal tax records or other required disclosures from private schools.
There are 25 schools or athletics departments that are private or are public schools covered under state law exempting them from releasing full compensation data on coaches. Schools that provided contract documents were given the opportunity to review their figures. Because of changes this season to the College Football Playoff format and to various conferences' former divisional structures, schools also were specifically given the opportunity to provide information about how those changes impacted existing bonus provisions.
Any pay the university guaranteed (even if paid by shoe/apparel company or another source) is included as “School Pay.” Anything not guaranteed by the university is included in “Total Pay.”
A not available (—) in the chart denotes amounts from schools that are private, did not release the information, or are amounts that cannot otherwise be determined.
A $0 means the coach doesn’t, or did not, get compensation from that source.
EXPLANATIONS OF COMPENSATION CATEGORIES
SCHOOL PAY: Base salary; income from contract provisions other than base salary that were to have been paid, or guaranteed, by the university or affiliated organizations, such as a foundation.
Examples include payments in consideration for: shoe and apparel use; television, radio or other media appearances; personal appearances.
Except as noted, these amounts are based on the coach’s annual pay rate for a full, standard-length contract year. Except as noted, they do not reflect amounts earned for a partial year worked immediately after hiring or a partial year worked at an annual pay rate other than the current amount.
It also includes deferred payments earned annually, conditional or otherwise; contractual expense accounts (if unaudited), housing allowances, personal travel allowances paid in cash or on an up-front basis by schools; signing and other one-time bonuses earned in the current contract year.
It does not include amounts that may have been earned as annual incentive bonuses in other years, the value of standard university benefits such as health care or the value of potentially taxable items such as cars; country club memberships; game tickets for the regular season, postseason and other sports; the value of stadium suites, travel upgrades or spouse/family travel and game tickets.
TOTAL PAY: Sum of actual School Pay and athletically related compensation received from non-university sources. (An NCAA rule requires athletics department employees to annually disclose athletically related income from non-university sources if that total is more than $600.)
BONUSES PAID: Amount coach was paid from May 15, 2023 through May 14, 2024 for meeting personal or team-performance goals. Does not include longevity and/or retention payments. Includes payments due to head coaches, regardless of whether they distributed portions to other staff.
Because schools were informed that the intent is to report amounts paid for goals achieved during the 2023-24 football season and school year, some schools provided information about applicable payments that were made after May 14, 2024. Amounts presented only for head coaches who are at the same public school that employed them as the head coach last season.
BUYOUT OWED AS OF DEC. 1, 2024: Amount school would owe coach if it fired him without cause on Dec. 1, 2024.
Many of these amounts are expressly subject to coach’s duty to make good-faith efforts to find another job, with income from that employment offsetting the amount owed. If mitigation and offset are not addressed in contract, coach still may have obligation to make efforts in that regard. The amount listed may be owed to coach over an extended period of time, rather than as a lump sum at termination.
NOTES
PITTSBURGH, TEMPLE AND PRIVATE SCHOOLS: The pay information listed came from federal tax returns or the Pennsylvania Right-to-Know Law report. Documents provide compensation for 2022 calendar year based on all income paid by the school or support organizations, including benefits, perks and performance bonuses.
AIR FORCE: The academy’s athletics department operates as a private, non-profit organization and maintains that it does not have to file the federal tax return required of other private non-profits because it is a federal governmental affiliate. It did not respond to a request for the coach's contract.
AMOUNTS IN ADDITION TO COACHES’ TOTAL PAY
Includes payments made by schools and/or their affiliated organizations on behalf of newly hired coaches who owed buyout amounts to their previous employer for terminating contracts so they could accept employment elsewhere; also includes portions of new and existing buyout-related loans from schools scheduled to be forgiven during the coach’s current contract year:
ALABAMA: Paid $12 million to Washington to cover the buyout that Kalen DeBoer owed.
ARIZONA: Paid $1 million to San Jose State to cover the buyout that Brent Brennan owed. Arizona also agreed to cover any taxes that he may incur in connection with this payment.
ARMY: Compensation amounts do not include the value of housing furnished by Army West Point Athletic Association that Jeff Monken is required to occupy as a condition of his employment.
HOUSTON: Paid $1 million to Tulane to cover the buyout that Willie Fritz owed. Houston also agreed to pay any taxes that he may incur in connection with this payment.
INDIANA: Agreed to pay $1.2 million to James Madison to cover the buyout that Curt Cignetti owed, plus another $550,620 in gross-up expense connected to that amount.
JAMES MADISON: Agreed to pay up to $175,000 to Holy Cross to cover the buyout that Bob Chesney owed, plus an additional $125,691 "to partially offset" his tax liability. If his tax liability ends up being less than that additional amount, the parties agree to negotiate a reduction of that amount.
LOUISIANA STATE: Brian Kelly also is getting the value of a $780,000, interest-free mortgage loan the Tiger Athletic Foundation has provided in connection with Kelly’s purchase of a residence in the Baton Rouge area. Foundation is entitled to repayment of original loan amount, plus 20% of the increased value of the home at sale.
MIAMI (FLORIDA): According to its federal tax records for the 2022 calendar year and an interview with athletics director Dan Radakovich, the school paid $14,931,323 in connection with the $9 million buyout that Cristobal owed Oregon for terminating his contract with that school and the taxes that Cristobal would have owed on that amount.
MICHIGAN STATE: Agreed to pay $3 million to Oregon State to cover the buyout that Jonathan Smith owed. Michigan State also agreed to pay any taxes that Smith may owe in connection with this amount.
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA: According to its federal tax records for the 2022 calendar year and a statement from the university, the school paid $9,616,444 that was at least partially in connection with the $4.5 million buyout that Riley owed Oklahoma for terminating his contract with that school and the taxes that Riley would have owed on that amount.
TEXAS A&M: Paid $5 million to Duke to cover the buyout that Mike Elko owed. Texas A&M also agreed to pay any taxes that Elko may owe in connection with this amount.
TEXAS-EL PASO: Provided up-front payment of $151,240 to Austin Peay to cover buyout that Scotty Walden owed. However, Walden must reimburse Texas-El Paso for this amount in the following manner: $76,239.92 in 12 equal consecutive monthly installments beginning Jan. 1, 2024 and ending Dec. 1, 2024; and the outstanding amount in 12 equal consecutive monthly installments beginning Jan. 1, 2025 and ending Dec. 1, 2025. The monthly installments are to be automatically withheld from Walden's compensation that would otherwise be payable. In the event of early termination of their contract by either party, with or without cause, on or before Dec. 1, 2025, any of this amount that remains unpaid becomes immediately payable.
WASHINGTON: Paid $5.5 million to Arizona to cover the buyout that Jedd Fisch owed. Washington also agreed to pay any expense Fisch may incur as a consequence of this payment.