The Average Salary of a College Football Coach

Football coaches help players develop their skills.

College football has become big business in the U.S., and the salaries of college football coaches have gone up accordingly. Winning football programs enhance the profiles of schools, attracting more paying fans, more prospective students, more media attention and ultimately more money. Coaching salaries still span a wide gap depending on factors like years of experience, past achievements, size of the university and team performance. Even so, most college football coaches across the country pull in relatively impressive salaries compared with coaches of other collegiate sports and the professors that teach at the schools.

High-End Head Coach Salaries

The coaches with the best records and the most experience tend to make the most money, not only in salary but also in endorsement deals. A 2009 study by USA Today showed that at least 25 head coaches out of approximately 120 NCAA Division I coaches made more than $2 million per season. The top tier among this group made more than double that figure. For example, the Los Angeles Times reported that USC head coach Pete Carroll earned $4.4 million back in the 2006-07 fiscal year. Many other elite coaches have earned contracts in that same range or higher between 2007 and 2010, including Texas coach Mack Brown, Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops, Florida coach Urban Meyer and Alabama coach Nick Saban.

Low-End Head Coach Salaries

Coaches of Division II and III programs usually make significantly less than those in Division I. However, some still make six figure salaries. According to Education Portal, Salary.com lists the average salary range for lower-tier coaches between $55,000 and $91,000. Of course, these modest salaries apply only to coaches of small programs with limited media exposure and little or no national profile.

Average Head Coach Salaries

While no data is readily available to calculate a complete average across all coaching positions in every division of NCAA football, salary information does exist for Division I head coaches. The average annual pay in 2009 for a head coach in Division I NCAA football was $1.36 million, according to USA Today.

Assistant Coach Salaries

USA Today also notes that at least 66 assistant coaches in Division I NCAA football made $300,000 or more for the 2009 season. Nationwide statistics indicate that one in four assistant coaches among the nearly 900 assistants in Division I football earned more than $200,000 a year, according to CBS Moneywatch. Five of the highest-paid assistant coaches in the country earned upwards of $600,00 in 2009. However, assistant coaches at low-profile programs in the second and third divisions make far less money.

Trends

Salary figures continue to inflate for NCAA college football coaches. Despite economic recessions and budgetary problems for institutions of higher learning, the price tags for big-name coaches keep going up. School administrators often view coaches' salaries as "key contributors to the fiscal 'arms race' in intercollegiate athletics," according to USA Today. As such, it seems likely that football programs will keep trying to outbid the competition to secure the best coaches available, even if it costs a fortune. Education Portal also predicts rapid growth, citing information from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics which suggests that coaching careers in college sports were expected to grow by 23 percent from 2008-2018.

References

• USA Today: College Football Coaches See Salaries Rise in Down Economy
• The New York Times: Academic vs. Football Coach Salaries
• CBS Moneywatch: How Much Are Assistant College Football Coaches Worth?
• Education Portal: Salary and Career Info for a College Football Coach
• Los Angeles Times: USC's Pete Carroll Tops National Salary List