Dave Aranda’s Baylor Bears tenure has been strange, as he struggled in his first year during COVID before putting together a Sugar Bowl-winning 2021 campaign. Since then, it’s been more bad than good, leading many to speculate the Bears could look to move on.
However, Baylor has put together a nice 2024 season that might be enough to warrant bringing Aranda back next season. Here’s what we know about his salary, contract, net worth, and buyout.
Dave Aranda’s Salary and Contract in 2024
Since Baylor is a private institution, Aranda’s contract info is not publicly available. Here’s what we do know.
The Baylor Bears hired Aranda in January of 2020. The original length of the contract was set to six years, signing him through the 2025 season.
He got a pass for the 2020 season and then went 12-2 in the 2021 season. Baylor pounced after Aranda found such success in his first “normal” season, signing him to a contract extension to keep him in Waco, Texas through the 2029 season. Unfortunately, we don’t have any real details about the contract outside of its length.
USA Today reported that Aranda made $3.8 million in 2022, $3 million in 2023, and $4.5 million in 2024, though those figures are unverified. We do know that Aranda made $2.5 million as defensive coordinator with the LSU Tigers in 2019. It’s likely that he’s being paid more to be a Power Four head coach.
What Is Dave Aranda’s Buyout?
Unfortunately, without exact contract numbers, we’ll have to estimate Aranda’s potential buyout should the Bears decide to move on from their head coach.
It would be in their best financial interest to hold onto the coach, at least through the end of the year.
Aranda is signed with Baylor much further into the future than other head coaches around the country. Even coaches like Ohio State’s Ryan Day are only signed through the 2028 season, even though Day’s contract extension was negotiated after Aranda’s.
That means that Aranda’s buyout is likely one of the higher numbers in the country, as no school plans on firing its coach with six years remaining on his contract.
If we assume an average salary around $4 million and a buyout of between 75% and 100% of what is owed, Aranda’s buyout would be between $18 million and $24 million if his contract terminated before the end of the season.
Dave Aranda’s Net Worth
Once again, this is tough without Aranda’s current contract details. What we do know is that Aranda has made at least seven figures every year since 2016, when he started his LSU tenure. That year, he made $1.3 million and quickly saw that salary balloon to $2.5 million within two years.
Assuming he’s made at least $2.5 million every year since 2018, a safe bet given the average head coaching salary in the Big 12, Aranda’s net worth could be in the $10+ million range.
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