Who is the highest-paid athletic director? Salaries for college football and basketball coaches have exploded in recent years, with many of them making more than $10 million per year. While none of the highest paid athletic directors don’t make that much, they still have massive salaries.
Importantly, many salaries for the highest-paid athletic directors aren’t known. For some schools, compensation doesn’t have to be reported because they are private institutions (University of Southern California, Notre Dame), while other salaries haven’t been reported for a few years. Here, we are compiling the top salaries we could find disclosed by universities or uncovered by reporters. We’ve excluded deferred payments and contract incentives, which a majority of ADs have.
Here are the 12 highest paid athletic directors in 2024.
Warde Manuel, University of Michigan athletic director- $1.227 million salary
A Michigan man through and through, University of Michigan athletic director Warde Manuel first went to the school as a defensive tackle for the Wolverines (1986-’89). Following his football career, he turned his attention to administration, learning the ropes at Michigan first as assistant athletic director and then as associate athletic director. After serving as AD for Buffalo (2005-’12) and Connecticut (2012-’16), Manuel took over as the Wolverines’ athletic director in 2016. Michigan’s annual financial disclosures for the 2023-’24 fiscal year list Manuel’s salary at $1.227 million.
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Josh Brooks, University of Georgia athletic director – $1.275 million salary
Josh Brooks worked his way up the executive ladder at the University of Georgia. He served as director of football operations (2008-’11) then became associate athletic director (2012-’14) then after stints at Millsaps College and Louisiana-Monroe and returned to Georgia in 2016 and kept working his way up. All that work was rewarded in 2021 when he became the Georgia Bulldogs athletic director. Thanks to the university’s excellent athletic success, Brooks received an extension in May 2024 that gave him a $1.275 million salary, plus financial security to 2030.
Kirby Hocutt, Texas Tech University athletic director – $1.64 million salary
A Texas native, Kirby Hocutt returned to his home state in 2011 as the Texas Tech athletic director. With the program for over a decade, the Red Raiders signed him to a contract extension in August 2022 that extends through 20230 and provides Hocuttwith a $1.64 million salary, not including $500,00 in deferred compensation and incentives, making him one of the highest paid athletic directors.
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Hunter Yurachek, University of Arkansas athletic director – $1.5 million salary
The University of Arkansas has shelled out millions of dollars in recent years to turn around its teams. In 2022, Arkansas Razorbacks athletic director Hunter Yurachek signed a multi-year contract extension, raising his salary from $1.25 million annually to $1.5 million annually, which doesn’t even include $250,000 in deferred compensation. With his financial future secured, Yurachek brought John Calipari to Arkansas in 2024.
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Josh Whittman, University of Illinois athletic director – $1.5 million salary
While the University of Illinois might not have one of the most dominant athletics programs in major sports (football, basketball and baseball), it had no trouble in 2023 making Josh Whittman one of the highest paid athletic directors nationally. In November, Whittman signed a multi-year extension through 2031 that guaranteed him a $1.5 million salary, not including additional incentives within the deal. The new salary marked a $525,000 raise from his previous deal.
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Scott Stricklin, University of Florida athletic director – $1.725 million salary
Four years after hiring Scott Stricklin as the Florida Gators athletic director, the University of Florida signed him to a contract extension through 2027 at an annual salary of $1.725 million. With the deal set to expire in a few years, meaning fewer seasons of deferred payments for the university to make, the school and its boosters may explore a change in the next year or so.
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Scott Woodward, LSU athletic director – $1.85 million salary
Scott Woodward jumped at the chance to leave Texas A&M in 2019 when he was offered the opportunity to become the athletic director at his alma mater. A Baton Rouge native, Woodward has helped the title since 2019 and received a four-year contract extension in October 2022. As part of the new deal, Woodward’s salary was raised to $1.85 million annually.
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Trev Alberts, Texas A&M University – $2 million salary
The Nebraska Cornhuskers signed Trev Alberts to a lucrative contract extension in November 2024, doubling his salary to $1.7 million. A few months later, even with a $4.12 million buyout in his contract, Alberts left his alma mater to become the Texas A&M athletic director. In addition to having his buyout covered, Texas A&M is estimated to be paying Alberts approximately a $2 million salary.
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Ross Bjork, Ohio State University athletic director – $2 million salary
Ohio State University athletic director Ross Bjork worked his way up from being an assistant development coordinator for Western Kentucky University (1996-’97) to an associate athletic director for the University of Miami (2003-’05) followed by a stint as the UCLA”s senior associate athletic director (2005-’10). He got his first shot at the big chair with Western Kentucky (2010-’21), moved on to Ole Miss (2012-’19) and then had a stint at Texas A&M (2019). In 2024, Ohio State hired him and made him one of the highest paid athletic directors ever by starting him at a $2 million salary.
Danny White, University of Tennessee athletic director – $2.2 million salary
Danny White helped oversee the turnaround for the UCF Knights as the University of Central Florida’s athletic director. Then, with the University of Tennessee in need of fixing, he was hired in 2021 to run the Volunteers’ athletic department. White’s first fire – Josh Heupel – has done wonders for the football program and Tennessee also won the SEC All-Sports Trophy in 2022-’23. With the success he’s had both in fundraising and in rebuilding Tennessee’s athletics program, he was rewarded with a contract extension in 2023 which makes him one of the highest-paid ADs.
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Greg Byrne, University of Alabama athletic director – $2.31 million salary
Since being hired in 2017, poached from Arizona, University of Alabama athletic director Greg Byrne has received six raises and contract extensions in a seven-year span. The latest deal, approved in March 2024, guaranteed him a base salary of $2.31 million in 2014 and that will climb to $2.755 million in the final year (2031), with the contract also including $2.625 million in deferred compensation. Just as Nick Saban did with his contract, Byrne is excellent at ensuring he’s one of the highest paid athletic directors every year.
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Chris Del Conte, University of Texas athletic director- $2.85 million salary
Chris Del Conte got his first crack at being an athletic director at Rice University, which he held from 2006-’09 before Texas Christian University hired him for the same position in 2009. Del Conte oversaw the Forned Frogs’ athletic departments until 2017 when the University of Texas at Austin hired him. Texas approved a raise in a new extension for Conte in 2019, locking him up through 2027 and it approved another contract extension in August 2023, which carries through 2030. The deal included an agreement to pay him up to $19.255 million, the largest endowment ever for an AD at the time. Del Conte will reportedly be guaranteed $2.85 million in 2024, $3 million in 2025 and $3.15 million in 2026.
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