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Ranking Every College Football Playoff Head Coach’s Salary

Posted on by Sweet
Ranking Every College Football Playoff Head Coach’s Salary

The inaugural 12-team College Football Playoff is loaded with talent on the field, but it also features big-name head coaches getting paid big money. With big contracts comes big pressure for some in the postseason, and unsurprisingly, the biggest pressure will likely be on coaches in the Big Ten and SEC.

Ohio State’s Ryan Day, Penn State’s James Franklin and Texas’ Steve Sarkisian might be among the coaches who have the most pressure on them to win the College Football Playoff. All three will have home playoff games to prepare for the first round. Day finished the season under fire after losing to Michigan and the events on the field after the loss, and the Buckeyes have a tough Tennessee to prepare for. Franklin and Penn State will host SMU and will be strong favorites, so a loss would be very alarming. And Sarkisian and Texas are scheduled to host ACC champion Clemson, coached by a national championship head coach in Dabo Swinney. These are not easy tasks.

So how much is each coach making in this year’s College Football Playoff and which schools are getting the biggest return on investment?

Here’s a look at the head football coaches in this year’s College Football Playoff and what they would win. Data comes from USA TODAY Sports’ coaching salary database.

12

Spencer Danielson, Boise State

Marco García-Imagn Images

Total salary: $1,135,008

Maximum bonus: $508,002

School buyout (as of 1/12/2024): $3,972,525

National salary ranking: 81

Perhaps no school has the kind of coaching contract that Boise State does. Boise State won the Mountain West Conference and received a first-round bye with Spencer Danielson leading the lowest-valued contract among coaches in the College Football Playoff.

11

Rhett Lashlee, SMU

Amber Searls-Imagn Images

Total salary: $2,360,640

Maximum bonus: N / A

School buyout (as of 1/12/2024): N / A

National salary ranking: 66

SMU just took its first step into a power conference and Rhett Lashlee led the program to an appearance in the ACC Championship Game, and they almost won! Expect SMU to find a way to increase Lashlee’s contract, as they will eventually have more revenue share in the conference to help the cause.

10

Kenny Dillingham, Arizona State

Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images

Total salary: $3,950,000

Maximum bonus: $5,378,500

School buyout (as of 1/12/2024): $17,207,408

National salary ranking: 56

Arizona State has the best deal for a power conference program after Kenny Dillingham led the Sun Devils to a surprising Big 12 championship in his first year in the conference. Arizona State was projected to finish at the bottom of the Big 12 this season in the preseason polls.

9

Curt Cignetti, Indiana

Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Total salary: $8,000,000

Maximum bonus: $3,300,000

School buyout (as of 1/12/2024): $60,000,000

National salary ranking: 16

Indiana just upgraded Curt Cignetti’s contract ahead of the playoffs after the Hoosiers’ first-year coach led Indiana to a surprising 11-1 season. The updated terms of the contract saw a big jump in Cignetti’s standing among his peers after the school essentially doubled his salary.

8

Marcus Freeman, Notre Dame

Matt Cashore-Imagn Images

Total salary: $6,687,754

Maximum bonus: N / A

School buyout (as of 1/12/2024): $N/A

National salary ranking: 28

Some terms of Marcus Freeman’s contract are not officially known, but we do know how much Notre Dame is paying him as a base salary. For a coach with limited head coaching experience when he was named head coach, Freeman is doing pretty well in South Bend.

7

Dan Lanning, Oregon

Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images

Total salary: $8,200,000

Maximum bonus: $1,875,000

School buyout (as of 1/12/2024): $45,366,667

National salary ranking: 14

It’s safe to say that Oregon’s Dan Lanning is a steal. The Ducks are the top-ranked team in this year’s College Football Playoff after completing the only undefeated season in the FBS this season.

6

James Franklin, Penn State

Scott Taetsch/Getty Images

Total salary: $8,500,000

Maximum bonus: $1,400,000

School buyout (as of 1/12/2024): $56,666,667

National salary ranking: 13

James Franklin is one of the most scrutinized coaches in this year’s playoffs with a terrible record against top-tier opponents. This is a year where Franklin could reshape some of the narrative about him, provided Penn State can get past the first two rounds.

5

Josh Heupel, Tennessee

Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images

Total salary: $9,000,000

Maximum bonus: $1,700,000

School buyout (as of 1/12/2024): $37,500,000

National salary ranking: 12

Tennessee made a big investment in Josh Heupel and is seeing good results. Heupel didn’t lead Tennessee to the top of the SEC, but the program made great strides under his leadership.

4

Ryan Day, Ohio State

Joseph Maiorana-Imagn Images

Total salary: $10,021,250

Maximum bonus: $1,550,000

School buyout (as of 1/12/2024): $37,276,042

National salary ranking: 5

Perhjaps no coach is under more pressure to succeed in this year’s playoffs than Ohio State’s Ryan Day. The number to pay most attention to here is the buyout price. After failing to play for the Big Ten title, Day can redeem himself in a big way with a run at the national title.

3

Steve Sarkisian, Texas

Troy Taormina-Imagn Images

Total salary: $10,600,000

Maximum bonus: $1,850,000

School buyout (as of 1/12/2024): $55,043,583

National salary ranking: 3

Texas is certainly getting its money’s worth with Steve Sarkisian quickly taking the Longhorns to a Big 12 championship and a trip to the SEC championship game in their first season in the new conference. But Texas pays Sarkisian to win a national title for the first time since Vince Young found a path to the end zone in the BCS National Championship against USC.

2

Dabo Swinney, Clemson

Bob Donnan-Imagn Images

Total salary: $11,132,775

Maximum bonus: $1,500,000

School buyout (as of 1/12/2024): $60,000,000

National salary ranking: 2

Dabo Swinney is being paid much more for his previous success with the Clemson program than he has in recent years. Swinney has propelled Clemson to the top of the college football world, but it’s been a few years since Clemson reached the heights of the national championship. Clemson clawed its way into the ACC championship game and used the opportunity to host this year’s playoff party.

1

Kirby Smart, Georgia

Brett Davis-Imagn Images

Total salary: $13,282,580

Maximum bonus: $1,775,000

School buyout (as of 1/12/2024): $118,083,333

National salary ranking: 1

Kirby Smart is a national championship head coach coming off another SEC title, so it’s pretty safe to say that Georgia feels it’s getting its money’s worth from its head coach. Georgia is the No. 2 seed in this year’s College Football Playoff.