For diehard college football fans, there is no one more celebrated or reviled quite like head coaches. One season can make a coach a legend, while the next can bring intense scrutiny from fans and the media. Programs invest high hopes and millions of dollars in finding leaders capable of winning conference championships and competing for national titles.
It’s a new era of college football. The transfer portal shakes up rosters every year, NIL continues to transform recruiting and the 2024 consolidation to the Power 4 conferences continues to heighten competition for top talent. Head coaches have assumed more responsibility than ever, often shouldering general manager-type duties.
A head coach is the most influential figure in a college football program, and they’ve got the salaries to prove it. Here are the highest-paid college football coaches in the game right now.
You can follow along throughout the 2026-27 college football season as some coaches lead their team to glory, and others feel the wrath of college football message boards. Catch all of the college football action on DIRECTV.
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40 Highest-Paid College Football Coaches in 2026
The list of college football’s highest-paid coaches looks a bit different heading into the 2026 season.
While Georgia’s Kirby Smart remains the sport’s highest earner, Indiana’s Curt Cignetti also surged to the top after leading the Hoosiers to unprecedented success and signing a new contract extension. LSU’s new head coach Lane Kiffin also vaulted into the top tier following his move from Ole Miss, while recent extensions for coaches like Mike Elko, Steve Sarkisian and Dabo Swinney reshuffled the rankings from last year.
Here’s a full breakdown of the highest coaching salaries in college football:
| Rank | Coach | School | Salary |
| 1 | Kirby Smart | Georgia | $13.3 million |
| 2 | Curt Cignetti | Indiana | $13.0 million |
| 3 | Lane Kiffin | LSU | $13.0 million |
| 4 | Ryan Day | Ohio State | $12.6 million |
| 5 | Kalen DeBoer | Alabama | $12.5 million |
| 6 | Lincoln Riley | USC | $11.5 million |
| 7 | Dabo Swinney | Clemson | $11.4 million |
| 8 | Steve Sarkisian | Texas | $11.1 million |
| 9 | Mike Elko | Texas A&M | $10.8 million |
| 10 | Dan Lanning | Oregon | $10.4 million |
| 11 | Mike Norvell | Florida State | $10.3 million |
| 12 | Eli Drinkwitz | Missouri | $10.3 million |
| 13 | Marcus Freeman | Notre Dame | $10.0 million |
| 14 | Deion Sanders | Colorado | $10.0 million |
| 15 | Bill Belichick | North Carolina | $10.0 million |
| 16 | Shane Beamer | South Carolina | $9.2 million |
| 17 | Josh Heupel | Tennessee | $9.0 million |
| 18 | Brent Venables | Oklahoma | $8.7 million |
| 19 | Matt Rhule | Nebraska | $8.5 million |
| 20 | Mario Cristobal | Miami | $8.3 million |
| 21 | Bret Bielema | Illinois | $8.2 million |
| 22 | Matt Campbell | Iowa State | $8.0 million |
| 23 | Kyle Whittingham | Utah | $8.0 million |
| 24 | P.J. Fleck | Minnesota | $7.9 million |
| 25 | Luke Fickell | Wisconsin | $7.8 million |
| 26 | Jedd Fisch | Washington | $7.7 million |
| 27 | Jon Sumrall | UCF | $7.5 million |
| 28 | Kenny Dillingham | Arizona State | $7.4 million |
| 29 | Pat Narduzzi | Pittsburgh | $7.3 million |
| 30 | Kirk Ferentz | Iowa | $7.2 million |
| 31 | Sonny Dykes | TCU | $7.0 million |
| 32 | Pete Golding | Ole Miss | $6.8 million |
| 33 | Alex Golesh | South Florida | $6.8 million |
| 34 | Greg Schiano | Rutgers | $6.8 million |
| 35 | Ryan Silverfield | Memphis | $6.7 million |
| 36 | Lance Leipold | Kansas | $6.7 million |
| 37 | Brent Key | Georgia Tech | $6.5 million |
| 38 | Joey McGuire | Texas Tech | $6.5 million |
| 39 | Mike Locksley | Maryland | $6.4 million |
| 40 | Dave Doeren | NC State | $6.2 million |
Note: Salary figures are based on publicly available reports and may contain discrepancies depending on contract structures, incentives and the timing of updates. This list was compiled using multiple reputable sources, including On3, The Big Lead, Front Office Sports and others.
Watch NCAA College Football on DIRECTV
You can watch all of these coaches vie for a College Football Playoff berth and ultimately a trip to the National Championship on DIRECTV.
Below is a breakdown of the biggest CFB conferences and the networks they partner with to bring you games live:
- ACC: ABC, ACC Network, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN3, ESPN Select, ESPNU, The CW
- American: ABC, CBS, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN3, ESPN Select, ESPNU
- Big Ten: Big Ten Network, CBS, FOX, FOX Deportes, FOX One, FS1, NBC, Paramount+, Peacock
- Big 12: ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN3, ESPN Select, ESPNU, FOX, FOX Deportes, FOX One, FS1
- Ivy League: ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN3, ESPN Select, ESPNU
- Mid-American (MAC): CBS Sports Network, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN3, ESPN Select, ESPNU
- Missouri Valley: CBS Sports Network, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN3, ESPN Select, ESPNU
- Mountain West: CBS, CBS Sports Network, FOX, FOX One, FS1, Paramount+
- Pac-12: CBS, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN3, ESPN Select, ESPNU, Paramount+, The CW, USA Network
- SEC: ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN3, ESPN Select, ESPNU, SEC Network
- Sun Belt: ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN3, ESPN Select, ESPNU
From homecoming weekend to the College Football Playoff, don’t miss a second of action. Get MySports® from DIRECTV and stream college football all season long.
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