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College Football Coaches' Compensation At All-Time High; Schools Getting Out-Leveraged?

Buoyed by "rising revenues in college sports," football coaches are "getting paid more than ever, with at least 36 earning" $3M or more this year, up from nine in '11 and one in '06, according to Schrotenboer, Berkowitz & Schnaars of USA TODAY. Coaches also have "more bargaining power than ever and are using it to guarantee their pay at unprecedented levels to match." Iowa's Kirk Ferentz is "one of at least seven football coaches who would be owed" at least $20M in guaranteed money if he were fired on Dec. 1 -- a list led by Florida State’s Jimbo Fisher, whose buyout this year would be a little more than $33M. In '11, there were 15 coaches with "guaranteed buyouts" of at least $8M. This year, at least 33 are "guaranteed that much." Sources said that the buyout boom "isn’t just caused by the rising pay market." In some cases, schools appear to be "getting outleveraged in contract negotiations by coaches and their agents, perhaps because multiyear contract signings are usually sunshiny occasions." Stanford economist Roger Noll said coaches these days “are in the driver’s seat.” Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh has $9M "owed to him this year," making him the "highest-paid coach" in USA Today Sports's annual survey of publicly available contracts (USA TODAY, 10/27). USA TODAY's Steve Berkowitz notes an "already exceptional year in ... Harbaugh’s contract and an exceptional year by Michigan’s football team would produce this extraordinary outcome: A public university employee making more than $10 million in a single contract year." During FY '14-15, 19 D-I public schools reported "spending less than" $10M on their "entire athletics programs" (USATODAY.com, 10/27). 

HIGHEST-PAID COACHES IN FBS
SCHOOL
COACH
SCHOOL PAY
OTHER
TOTAL
MAX BONUS
BONUSES
'15-16
Michigan
Jim Harbaugh
$9,004,000
--
$9,004,000
$1,325,000
$0
Alabama
Nick Saban
$6,939,395
--
$6,939,395
$700,000
$625,000
Ohio State
Urban Meyer
$6,003,000
$91,800
$6,094,800
$775,000
$250,000
Oklahoma
Bob Stoops
$5,550,000
$0
$5,550,000
$834,000
$333,000
Florida State
Jimbo Fisher
$5,250,000
--
$5,250,000
$1,475,000
$100,000
Texas
Charlie Strong
$5,200,000
$130
$5,200,130
$1,006,000
$0
Texas A&M
Kevin Sumlin
$5,000,000
--
$5,000,000
$1,350,000
$50,000
Auburn
Gus Malzahn
$4,725,000
$4,500
$4,729,500
$1,400,000
$125,000
Mississippi
Hugh Freeze
$4,700,000
$3,500
$4,703,500
$1,225,000
$300,000
Iowa
Kirk Ferentz
$4,500,000
$0
$4,500,000
$2,875,000
$900,000
Penn State
James Franklin
$4,500,000
--
$4,500,000
$1,000,000
$200,000
Clemson
Dabo Swinney
$4,417,500
$5,200
$4,422,700
$1,725,000
$1,100,000
LSU*
Les Miles
$4,300,000
$85,567
$4,385,567
$700,000
$100,000
Michigan State
Mark Dantonio
$4,300,000
$0
$4,300,000
$650,000
$475,000
Florida
Jim McElwain
$4,268,325
$0
$4,268,325
$450,000
$100,000
Mississippi State
Dan Mullen
$4,200,000
$0
$4,200,000
$900,000
$200,000
Arkansas
Bret Bielema
$4,100,000
$45,000
$4,145,000
$1,000,000
$100,000
Tennessee
Butch Jones
$4,110,000
--
$4,110,000
$1,000,000
$350,000
Stanford
David Shaw
$4,067,219
--
$4,067,219
--
--
TCU
Gary Patterson
$4,014,723
--
$4,014,723
--
--
Louisville
Bobby Petrino
$3,880,434
$30,000
$3,910,434
$1,464,583
$794,667
Oklahoma State
Mike Gundy
$3,775,000
--
$3,775,000
$550,000
$100,000
Georgia
Kirby Smart
$3,753,600
--
$3,753,600
$1,800,000
--
Utah
Kyle Whittingham
$3,650,000
--
$3,650,000
$935,000
$334,167
Washington
Chris Petersen
$3,600,000
$5,847
$3,605,847
$1,175,000
$150,000
Kentucky
Mark Stoops
$3,500,000
$13,600
$3,513,600
$2,800,000
$50,000
             

CHART NOTE: * = Was fired by LSU on Sept. 25.

GO BIG OR GO HOME?
USA TODAY's Berkowitz writes under the header, "Clemson Football Could Save Big By Winning Big." Working with Georgia-based Risk Point Consulting, Clemson has spent $272,000 to obtain coverage, and Assistant AD/Business Operations Eric George said that it will "cap the school's exposure on football bonuses for this season" at $2M. George said that the arrangement would "save the school more than $500,000 if the Tigers again lose in the CFP title game" and more than $1.2M if they win the title. Risk Point President Michael Wright said that Clemson is "among five schools that chose to purchase coverage through his firm after about 15 had what he termed 'serious conversations' about it" (USA TODAY, 10/27).

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