USA Today has released its annual college football coach salary list, and Alabama coach Nick Saban stands as the highest paid college football coach once again at roughly $8,307,000, roughly $700,000 more then the next-highest paid coach, Urban Meyer, who is listed at $7.6 million.
Those two coaches are followed by Michigan's Jim Harbaugh ($7,504,000), Texas A&M's Jimbo Fisher ($7.5 million) and Auburn's Gus Malzahn ($6.7 million) to round out the top five highest-paid coaches, respectively.
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Fisher has the highest buyout at $68.1 million, followed by Meyer ($38 million), Clemson's Dabo Swinney ($35 million), Saban ($33.6 million) and Malzahn ($32.1 million). Saban, Meyer and Swinney are the highest-paid coaches in the SEC, Big Ten and ACC, respectively, while Texas' Tom Herman ($5.5 million) and Washington's Chris Petersen ($4.375 million) are the highest-paid coaches in the Big 12 and Pac-12, respectively.
In all, the SEC and Big Ten have the most top-25-paid coaches in college football, with seven apiece. The ACC has five, the Big 12 four and the Pac-12 just two. Here is a full breakdown of college football's top 25 highest-paid coaches:
| Coach (Team) | Total Salary | Bonuses paid 2017-18 | Buyout |
| Nick Saban (Alabama) | $8.3 million | $500,000 | $33.6 million |
| Urban Meyer (Ohio State) | $7.6 million | $350,000 | $38 million |
| Jim Harbaugh (Michigan) | $7.5 million | $150,000 | $17.1 million |
| Jimbo Fisher (Texas A&M) | $7.5 million | — | $68.1 million |
| Gus Malzahn (Auburn) | $6.7 million | $375,000 | $32.1 million |
| Kirby Smart (Georgia) | $6.6 million | $1.3 million | $27.9 million |
| Dabo Swinney (Clemson) | $6.5 million | $500,000 | $35 million |
| Dan Mullen (Florida) | $6 million | — | $12 million |
| Tom Herman (Texas) | $5.5 million | $75,000 | $15.4 million |
| Scott Frost (Nebraska) | $5 million | — | $25.4 million |
| Mike Gundy (Oklahoma State) | $5 million | $62,500 | $16.2 million |
| Willie Taggart (Florida State) | $5 million | — | $21.9 million |
| Lovie Smith (Illinois) | $5 million | $50,000 | $12.6 million |
| Gary Patterson (Texas Christian) | $4.8 million | — | — |
| James Franklin (Penn State) | $4.8 million | $300,000 | $18.3 million |
| Lincoln Riley (Oklahoma) | $4.8 million | $180,000 | $20.8 million |
| Kirk Ferentz (Iowa) | $4.7 million | $600,000 | $22.3 million |
| Mark Dantonio (Michigan State) | $8.3 million | $125,000 | $7 million |
| Chris Petersen (Washington) | $8.3 million | $300,000 | $26.3 million |
| David Shaw (Stanford) | $8.3 million | — | — |
| Will Muschamp (South Carolina) | $8.3 million | $100,000 | $18.6 million |
| Mark Richt (Miami) | $8.3 million | — | — |
| Mark Stoops (Kentucky) | $8.3 million | $300,000 | $15.6 million |
| Justin Fuente (Virginia Tech) | $8.3 million | $75,000 | $15 million |
| Bobby Petrino (Louisville) | $8.3 million | $860,000 | $14 million |