College football’s highest paid head coaches for 2022 season
I once read that there’s no occupation in America that has less job security than that of a college football head coach. Look at Tennessee. The Volunteers are on their seventh head coach since 2009.
But the risk of being fired after just a year or two does not outweigh the reward — millions of dollars to coach college football.
Using USA TODAY’s coaching salary database, SportsNaut compiled a list of the 16 highest paid college football coaches for the 2022 season, taking into account new contracts that have been issued this offseason.
Georgia’s Kirby Smart signed a new 10-year, $112.5 million contract, making him the highest-paid coach in college football.
The SEC leads the way with an average head coaching salary of $4.3 million for the 2022 season followed by the Big 12 at $3.4 million.
Here are the 16 highest paid college football head coaches for the 2022 season:
Steve Sarkisian, Texas
Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports
2022 salary: $5.45 million
Chip Kelly, UCLA
Richard Mackson-USA TODAY Sports
2022 salary: $5.6 million
Pat Fitzgerald, Northwestern
Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports
2022 salary: $5.748 million
James Franklin, Penn State
Syndication: USA TODAY
2022 salary: $7 million
Jim Harbaugh, Michigan
Robert Goddin-USA TODAY Sports
2022 salary: $7.05 million
Lane Kiffin, Ole Miss
Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports
2022 salary: $7.25 million
Jimbo Fisher, Texas A&M
Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports
2022 salary: $7.5 million
Mario Cristobal, Miami
Jim Dedmon-USA TODAY Sports
2022 salary: $8 million (new contract)
Dabo Swinney, Clemson
Joshua S. Kelly-USA TODAY Sports
2022 salary: $8,370,775
David Shaw, Stanford
Darren Yamashita-USA TODAY Sports
2022 salary: $8.925 million
Ryan Day, Ohio State
Syndication: The Columbus Dispatch
2022 salary: $9.5 million
Mel Tucker, Michigan State
Syndication: Detroit Free Press
2022 salary: $9.5 million
Brian Kelly, LSU
Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports
2022 salary: $9.5 million (new contract)
Nick Saban, Alabama
Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports
2022 salary: $9,753,221 million
Lincoln Riley, USC
(AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
2022 salary: Estimated $10-plus million (new contract)
Kirby Smart, Georgia
(Photo by Todd Kirkland/Getty Images)
2022 salary: $11.25 million (new contract)
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