Major Applewhite is back in the head coaching game. As the dominoes fell in the wake of Nick Saban’s retirement, the South Alabama Jaguars elevated their offensive coordinator into the head coaching vacancy in Mobile.
What are the details of Applewhite’s salary and contract as the Jaguars head coach, and what is his net worth as he leads a team for the first time since 2018?
Major Applewhite’s Salary and Contract in 2024
When Kane Wommack departed for their in-state neighbor during the 2024 coaching carousel, South Alabama moved quickly to elevate their offensive coordinator into their head coach vacancy. Applewhite signed a five-year contract to become the new Jaguars’ leader, earning $825,000 per year as his base salary.
“Following a broad evaluation of our program, it became very clear that the best leader for us in both the short and long term is Major Applewhite,” South Alabama Director of Athletics Joel Erdmann announced via an official media release.
Applewhite’s salary is slightly higher than his predecessor. Wommack had signed a contract extension in Dec. 2022 that put his annual base salary at $810,000. Additionally, the wording in his contract as the South Alabama head coach suggests “reasonable increases” in the salary pool for assistant coaches and off-field staff under the new head coach.
“His professional experience, his string of mentors along his path, and his proven ability to recruit, develop, and sustain relationships with student-athletes were all significant contributing factors to this decision. I am incredibly excited about our future,” Erdmann continued.
Erdmann’s excitement over the future of South Alabama football is informed by Applewhite’s success as the offensive coordinator for the Jaguars. In his hands, the program has established itself at the forefront of college football offense, with quarterback Carter Bradley earning a call-up to the 2024 Reese’s Senior Bowl after two productive seasons in Mobile.
Applewhite’s success as an offensive innovator at the college level stems directly from his playing career.
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The Baton Rouge native committed to play quarterback for the Texas Longhorns, leading the team to two Big 12 Championship Game, two bowl game victories, and setting a plethora of school records — some of which still stand to this day.
He returned to Texas as a general assistant in 2003, starting a coaching journey that took in stops at Syracuse, Rice, and Alabama, before a second stint in Austin led to Applewhite’s first college football head coaching role with the Houston Cougars.
Serving as the Houston offensive coordinator and quarterback coach from 2015 to 2016, he was elevated to the head coach position in advance of the 2017 college football season. Although Applewhite led the Cougars to a 15-11 overall record, a failure to win a bowl game that included a blowout at the hands of the Army Black Knights sealed his fate.
Poetically, he returned to Alabama to be reinvigorated under Crimson Tide head coach Saban, whose retirement in early January set in motion a domino effect that led to Applewhite earning his second opportunity to be a college head coach.
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“I’m incredibly humbled and excited to be the next head football coach at the University of South Alabama,” Applewhite said of his appointment. “I’m grateful to Kane Wommack for bringing me here three years ago, and I look forward to carrying on the winning tradition that has been established.”
“I’m excited to work with the strong and proven leadership of the administration here at South Alabama. I’m anxious to get started and quickly turn my attention back to our players, and prepare them for spring ball and the 2024 season.”
Applewhite’s Net Worth
With a five-year contract paying $825,000 annually, Applewhite’s net worth is $4.125 million. However, that doesn’t include any potential performance incentives which were publically unavailable at the time of writing. It also doesn’t include previous salary in his numerous roles across the college landscape.
Interestingly, Applewhite’s base salary exceeds his previous head coach appointment at Houston. As per details released by Football Scoop in Feb. 2017, the then-Cougars head coach earned a base salary of just $650,000, bolstered by a non-salary compensation of $850,000.
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