On Friday, Deion Sanders became the latest head coach to join the $10 million or greater annually club of college football coaches. This puts him in some limited company. This comes after Sanders led the Buffaloes to a nine-win and four-loss season and flirted with a Big 12 Championship game berth and even a potential College Football Playoff spot.
Where does Coach Prime rank amongst the other highest-paid coaches in college football? He is tied for eighth with UNC’s Bill Belichick, as they both make $10 million a year. However, who are college football’s highest-paid coaches right now?
Who Are College Football’s Highest Paid Coaches?
The fifth highest-paid college football coach comes to us from the Texas Longhorns. Steve Sarkisian is taking home $10.8 million annually. Sarkisian has made back-to-back playoff semifinals and has astronomical expectations entering the 2025 season.
As for number four, look no further than the Oregon Ducks, Dan Lanning. Lanning has just received a big-time raise from Oregon after a season that included the Big Ten Championship and the No. 1 seed in the playoffs. Lanning is currently taking home $11 million annually.
The third highest paid comes to us from South Carolina, the Clemson Tigers, Dabo Swinney. Swinney currently takes home $11.5 million annually. Clemson gave Swinney a massive 10-year deal back in 2022. He is now the highest-paid coach in the ACC after winning two National Championships with Clemson.
The second-highest-paid college football coach happened very recently. After Ohio State won the National Championship, they rewarded Ryan Day with a big deal. Day is currently taking home $12.5 million. Day faced a lot of criticism but proved many people wrong with the end result of last season.
The highest-paid coach in college football shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone. The Georgia Bulldogs have been one of the most prestigious teams in college football. Last year, the Bulldogs rewarded their legendary coach, Kirby Smart, with a 10-year, $130 million deal. Smart currently takes home $13.2 million per year.
Smart has won two national championships, has a 105-win and 19-loss record over nine seasons, and has won three SEC championships. While this may seem like a lot for a college football coach, he has truly been worth every penny for the Bulldogs.
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Sanders currently enters the top 10 but is certainly a little bit of a ways away from the top five. The five highest-paid coaches are truly an elite club. As of 2025, this is how the list looks, and it’s all justified.
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