Michigan football coach Jim Harbaugh is the third-highest paid coach in America this season at $7.5M, but without a championship, it raises the question if he is "really worth" his salary, according to Brady, Berkowitz & Schnaars of USA TODAY. Harbaugh makes "roughly the same" as Texas A&M coach Jimbo Fisher, while only Alabama's Nick Saban ($8.3M) and Ohio State's Urban Meyer ($7.6M) are "making more." Those coaches have all "won national championships." Michigan AD Warde Manuel said Harbaugh is "absolutely" worth his salary. Manuel: "Every dime." UM sports management professor Rodney Fort "also thinks" Harbaugh is worth his salary. He said that Harbaugh has been "highly successful in creating interest and filling seats" for the program. UM's athletics department "can handle" the cost of Harbaugh's salary. In '17, UM was among one of just 21 D-I public-school sports programs that "transferred excess funds to its university." UM has "led the NCAA in attendance in each of Harbaugh's three seasons" with the school, and the annual operating revenue from football is "much greater under Harbaugh than it was under his predecessor, Brady Hoke." However, UM has "spent so much more on football under Harbaugh -- beginning with his compensation -- that its surplus from the sport is a little less than it was under Hoke," who was making $2.85M in his final season. In '13 and '14, the two full fiscal cycles under Hoke, UM reported averages of $86.4M in football revenue and $24.9M in expenses for an average surplus of $61.5M. In '17, the one full fiscal cycle under Harbaugh, football revenue was $105.9M and expenses $46.2M -- a $59.6M surplus (USA TODAY, 10/4). ESPN Radio Omaha's Joe Quinn tweeted, "Thing that strikes me the most about coach's compensation: Yes, the yearly salaries have gone up, but the buyout numbers have exploded the last five years. Big change" (TWITTER.com, 10/3).
TOP COLLEGE FOOTBALL COACH SALARIES |
SCHOOL |
COACH |
SCHOOL PAY |
TOTAL PAY |
MAX BONUS |
BONUSES '17-18 |
Alabama |
Nick Saban |
$8,307,000 |
$8,307,000 |
$1,100,000 |
$500,000 |
Ohio State |
Urban Meyer |
$7,600,000 |
$7,600,000 |
$775,000 |
$350,000 |
Michigan |
Jim Harbaugh |
$7,504,000 |
$7,504,000 |
$1,325,000 |
$150,000 |
Texas A&M |
Jimbo Fisher |
$7,500,000 |
$7,500,000 |
$1,350,000 |
$0 |
Auburn |
Gus Malzahn |
$6,700,000 |
$6,705,656 |
$1,400,000 |
$375,000 |
Georgia |
Kirby Smart |
$6,603,000 |
$6,603,000 |
$1,150,000 |
$1,350,000 |
Clemson |
Dabo Swinney |
$6,205,000 |
$6,543,350 |
$1,125,000 |
$500,000 |
Florida |
Dan Mullen |
$6,070,000 |
$6,070,000 |
$925,000 |
$0 |
Texas |
Tom Herman |
$5,500,000 |
$5,500,000 |
$725,000 |
$75,000 |
Nebraska |
Scott Frost |
$5,000,000 |
$5,000,000 |
$950,000 |
$0 |
Oklahoma State |
Mike Gundy |
$5,000,000 |
$5,000,000 |
$900,000 |
$62,500 |
Florida State |
Willie Taggart |
$5,000,000 |
$5,000,000 |
$1,475,000 |
$0 |
Illinois |
Lovie Smith |
$5,000,000 |
$5,000,000 |
$1,000,000 |
$50,000 |
TCU |
Gary Patterson |
$4,840,717 |
$4,840,717 |
$0 |
$0 |
Penn State |
James Franklin |
$4,800,000 |
$4,800,000 |
$1,000,000 |
$300,000 |
Oklahoma |
Lincoln Riley |
$4,800,000 |
$4,800,000 |
$700,000 |
$180,000 |
Iowa |
Kirk Ferentz |
$4,700,000 |
$4,700,000 |
$2,875,000 |
$600,000 |
Michigan State |
Mark Dantonio |
$4,390,417 |
$4,390,417 |
$650,000 |
$125,000 |
Washington |
Chris Petersen |
$4,375,000 |
$4,377,500 |
$1,050,000 |
$300,000 |
Stanford |
David Shaw |
$4,311,543 |
$4,311,543 |
$0 |
$0 |
South Carolina |
Will Muschamp |
$4,200,000 |
$4,200,000 |
$1,400,000 |
$100,000 |
Miami |
Mark Richt |
$4,058,061 |
$4,058,061 |
$0 |
$0 |
Kentucky |
Mark Stoops |
$4,000,000 |
$4,013,600 |
$3,100,000 |
$300,000 |
Virginia Tech |
Justin Fuente |
$4,000,000 |
$4,000,000 |
$435,000 |
$75,000 |
