Ahead of the 2022 season, Alabama’s Nick Saban has once again become the highest-paid college coach at a public institution following a contract extension.
According to Nick Kelly of The Tuscaloosa News, the Crimson Tide coach will earn $10.695 million this season, an increase from the $9.9 million he was set to make. His new 2022 salary, which includes base salary, talent fee and completion benefit, does not include incentive bonuses, per Kelly.
His contract extension will have him in Tuscaloosa for one more year, running through the 2029 season. That year, he is set to make $12.7 million in base salary and talent fee, per Kelly. The deal ends on Feb. 28, 2030, seven months before Saban’s 79th birthday.
Georgia’s Kirby Smart held the title of the highest-earning coach at a public school for a little more than a month. This season, Smart will reportedly earn a base salary of $10.25 million and is set to make $112.5 million across his 10-year extension, per ESPN’s Chris Low.
Saban’s new compensation will come out to an average of $11.7 million per year, while Smart will make an average of $11.2 million over 10 years, according to ESPN’s Alex Scarborough.
According to Kelly, the new deal includes language that requires Saban and his representatives to meet with Alabama athletic director Greg Byrne every February “to look at marketplace trends.” If they find that the Crimson Tide coach’s guaranteed annual compensation is less than the average of the five highest-paid college football coaches or less than the three highest-compensated SEC coaches, Alabama will “increase his compensation to the higher of the two averages,” per Kelly.
The Crimson Tide also extended Byrne. He will make an average of $1.7 million per year on a deal that runs through June 2029, per Scarborough.
Coming off an SEC championship win but College Football championship defeat, Saban will look to keep his more than decade-long reign at Alabama and in the SEC afloat this season. The Crimson Tide opens their 2022 season at home against Utah State on Sept. 3 before heading to Austin on Sep. 10 to face their future conference competitor, Texas.
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