-
Chris Lowe, ESPN Senior Writer
Georgia's Kirby Smart has signed a new 10-year, $130 million contract that was approved by university officials at Thursday's annual athletic board meeting. The deal makes Smart the highest-paid college football coach in the country and the first to earn $13 million.
Smart was scheduled to make $10.75 million this year under his old contract, but his annual salary has increased to $13 million, which is guaranteed for at least the first half of his contract. His new contract runs through the 2033 season. Mr. Smart could also earn a bonus of up to $1.55 million. He is in his ninth season as Georgia's coach. His Bulldogs won back-to-back national championships in 2021 and 2022 and won an SEC-record 29 straight games before losing to Alabama in the SEC Championship Game last season.
“I remain grateful and humbled by the administration's commitment to our football program,” Smart said in a statement. “The current culture of collegiate athletics is constantly changing and more challenging than ever before, so I am truly grateful for the leadership that our team continues to provide. I take great pride in representing them and look forward to continuing that relationship with many of them for many years to come. ”
Nick Saban of the University of Alabama was the highest-paid college football coach in the nation until he retired in January. Smart surpassed Clemson's Dabo Swinney, who has an average annual salary of $11.5 million. According to industry insiders, USC's Lincoln Riley's average annual salary is also in the $11 million range. Other players with average annual salaries over $10 million include Alabama's Karen DeBoer ($10.875 million), Texas' Steve Sarkisian ($10.64 million), and Florida State's Mike Norvell ($10.64 million). 10.52 million dollars). Mr. Sarkisian and Mr. Nobel both agreed to new contracts worth more than $10 million in January, around the same time as Mr. DeBoer's hiring.
Since returning to his alma mater in 2016, Smart has led the Bulldogs to two national championships and a third appearance in each of the past three seasons, winning at least 13 games. Georgia is the only team to finish in the top seven in the final AP poll in each of the past seven seasons. Since Saban retired, Smart is undefeated against all active head coaches over the past five years.
“I was brought here to win championships, but what I'm most proud of is consistency. Looking back at my first year,” Smart told ESPN last month. [when Georgia went 8-5] It was a failure and not the norm, but every year since then we've been there. I don't think anyone has finished in the top seven seven years in a row during this period. ”
Georgia athletic director Josh Brooks also received a raise and extension Thursday, with his contract running through 2030. His annual salary will be $1,275,000, with increases of $100,000 each year over the life of the contract.
