Highest-paid college football coaches 2025: Kirby Smart, Bill Belichick among top CFB coach salaries

Who is the highest paid coach in college football? There’s more money than ever invested in college football, with programs operating with historic NIL and staff budgets for football. As a result, the salaries for the highest-paid college football coaches have skyrocketed.

Here are the highest paid college football coaches right now.

Highest paid college football coaches right now

1. Kirby Smart, Georgia Bulldogs – $13 million annual salary

Kirby Smart is the highest-paid coach in college football. The Georgia Bulldogs head coach is a two-time national champion with three SEC titles and three SEC Coach of the Year awards. He also oversees one of the best recruiting staffs and arguably the best player development program in college football. Since going 8-5 in his first season, Georgia boasts a .874 winning percentage from 2017-2024. With Georgia a perennial national championship contender, Smart earns his place atop the highest-paid college football coaches in 2025.

Related: Highest paid college football players 2025, based on NIL value

2. Ryan Day, Ohio State Buckeyes – $12.5 million annual salary

Ryan Day went from screaming calls to be fired and threats against his family from crazy fanatics to helping the Ohio State Buckeyes dominate the College Football Playoff and then win the national championship. It’s true that Day’s coaching staff and the Buckeyes’ NIL fund is practically unmatched, but he is still easily one of the best coaches in college football. Winning the national championship, the program’s first since 2014, rightfully earned Day a lucrative contract extension.

Related: Ohio State Game Today, Ohio State Buckeyes Football Schedule

3. Dabo Swinney, Clemson Tigers – $11.5 million annual salary

Dabo Swinney seems to be a lifer for the Clemson Tigers and for good reason. He’s delivered two national championships and eight CFP playoff appearances for the program and is running away with the program record for all-time wins. However, one of the highest-paid college football coaches right now also went four consecutive years without a playoff appearance and Clemson has lost 14 games in the last four seasons after losing just 7 from 2015-2020. Swinney’s stance on the transfer portal is outdated, but he’s made this football program relevant and that’s priceless for the university. As long as Swinney wants the job, it’s his.

4. Dan Lanning, Oregon Ducks – $11 million annual salary

Just as Kirby Smart learned from Nick Saban and then became one of the best coaches in college football, Dan Lanning has done the same with what he learned from Smart. The Oregon Ducks coach won immediately, recording three consecutive seasons with double-digit wins and winning the Big Ten Conference in 2024. Lanning turned interest from the Alabama Crimson Tide into a deal that makes him one of the highest-paid college football coaches and he’s proven his worth so far. Plus, the future is bright as he’s just 39 years old.

Related: Best college football teams ever

5. Steve Sarkisian, Texas Longhorns – $10.8 million annual salary

Steve Sarkisian is a redemption story in college football. From being fired by the USC Trojans and working his way back up to finally bringing the Texas Longhorns ‘back’, his work since being hired merits the deal that makes him one of the highest-paid coaches in college football. He’s helped Texas reach the College Football Playoff in consecutive seasons and owns a 25-5 mark in the last two years. The next challenge is seeing how far he can reach with Arch Manning at quarterback.

6. Lincoln Riley, USC Trojans – $10.1 million annual salary

Of the highest-paid college football coaches in 2025, Lincoln Riley might have the iffiest job security. The USC Trojans have 11 losses in the last two seasons, with Riley recording as many five-loss campaigns as Clay Helton. USC isn’t close to national championship contention, but Riley’s program does need to start showing some promising signs of the future to avoid the buyout talk from starting.

Related: USC Trojans football commits 2026

7. Kalen DeBoer, Alabama Crimson Tide – $10.875 million annual salary

Being the coach to replace Nick Saban is an unwinnable position and Kalen Deboer didn’t fare well in his first year. The Alabama Crimson Tide lost four games for the first time since 2007 and the program had its first three-loss season in the SEC since 2010. DeBoer is a very good coach – 55-9 outside of Alabama – but the expectations might be so high in Tuscaloosa that he is eventually replaced.

Related: 2026 NFL mock draft, see where top college football stars land

8. Deion Sanders, Colorado Buffaloes – $10 million annual salary

Deion Sanders might not be one of the 10 best college football coaches right now, but he earned every dollar of the extension he received this offseason. Sanders has helped generate tens of millions of dollars in revenue for the University of Colorado Boulder. In two years, he also turned a 1-11 program into a 9-4 team. The 2025 season without Travis Hunter and Shedeur Sanders will be a test for Sanders’ coaching ability, but he’s earning just a fraction of the money he’s made for the Colorado Buffaloes.

Related: NFL execs blame Deion Sanders for Shedeur Sanders falling in 2025 NFL Draft

9. Bill Belichick, North Carolina Tar Heels – $10 million annual salary

The offseason provided the greatest challenge that the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has faced in a long time. It’s certainly been a far heavier price to pay for the distinguished school than the $10 million salary Bill Belichick will receive this season. Once the fall comes, all that matters will be the North Carolina Tar Heels football team. Given the roster overhaul in the transfer portal – 41 players out and 42 coming in – bowl eligibility and the program’s first bowl win since 2020 should be acceptable.

10. Brian Kelly, LSU Tigers – $9.9 million annual salary

The LSU Tigers hired Brian Kelly to turn this football program back into a national championship contender. Instead, he enters the 2025 season with a worse winning percentage than Bill Arnsparger (.750) and Biff Jones (.742) had in their first three years. With the Tigers heading into the fall not even making the consensus top 25 college football rankings, it’s fair to wonder how much longer LSU is willing to tolerate Kelly’s teams falling well short of what the expectations for this program are meant to be.

Related: LSU Game Today, LSU Tigers football schedule

11. Mike Norvell, Florida State Seminoles – $9.5 million annual salary

Mike Norvell took a pay cut, giving back $4.5 million, after a disastrous two-win season in 2024. It bought him time, with the Florida State Seminoles exercising patience with a coach who posted a 23-4 record from 2022-’23. There’s a nice $750,000 bonus for him if the Seminoles win 9 games, but Florida State offered itself some protections in case this program falls back to how it was in his first two years at the helm (8-13). Time will tell whether or not the 2023 ACC Coach of the Year can get Florida State back on track.

12. Lane Kiffin, Ole Miss Rebels – $9 million annual salary

Entering the 2025 season, Lane Kiffin has the second-highest winning percentage (.710) in Ole Miss Rebels history. Between the program’s consistent success and Kiffin’s ability to use head-coach openings around the Power 4 as leverage, he’s made himself one of the highest-paid college football coaches right now. While Kiffin isn’t widely regarded as a great coach, his scheme and recruiting put the Rebels in a position to consistently win at least 9 games per season.

13. Mark Stoops, Kentucky Wildcats – $9 million annual salary

The Mark Stoops contract hasn’t worked out for the Kentucky Wildcats. He turned interest from the Texas A&M Aggies in 2023 into a lucrative extension through the 2031 season and then immediately followed that up with a four-win campaign in 2024. The strong stretch from 2018-2021 – 33-17 – seems to have been a fluke, but Stoops’ job security is pretty strong heading into 2025 given his $44 million buyout.

Also Read: 2026 NFL Draft picks by team

14. Josh Heupel, Tennessee Volunteers – $9 million annual salary

When the Tennessee Volunteers hired Josh Heupel before the 2021 season, some viewed it as a hire to buy time. The football program was in a very bad spot and Heupel seemed like the perfect coach to slowly start turning things around. In three years at Knoxville, he sports a .712 winning percentage and a College Football Playoff appearance. Heupel will never be mistaken for being one of the best coaches in college football and his offensive scheme doesn’t help players when it comes to NFL development, but he’s been a blessing for Tennessee.

15. Eli Drinkwitz, Missouri Tigers – $9 million annual salary

The 2023 SEC Coach of the Year, Eliah Drinkwitz has done an excellent job since making the leap from App State to the Missouri Tigers. It was a slow start, with Mizzou combining for a 17-19 record in his first three years without a bowl win. Over the last two seasons, however, Drinkwitz holds a stellar 21-5 record, with a pair of bowl victories and Mizzou has been consistently rated as a top-25 team. All in all, this seems like the perfect fit for both sides.

Highest paid assistant coaches in college football

1. Jim Knowles, Penn State Nittany Lions defensive coordinator – $3.1 million salary
2. Blake Baker, LSU Tigers defensive coordinator – $2.5 million salary
3. Wink Martindale, Michigan Wolverines defensive coordinator – $2.3 million salary
4. Pete Golding, Ole Miss Rebels defensive coordinator – $2.1 million salary
5. Andy Ludwig, Utah Utes offensive coordinator – $2.05 million salary