Average SEC football coach makes $3.7 million, topping all conferences

The annual list of how much money college football coaches make is out, and you’re not gonna believe this, but many coaches are rich.

Alabama’s Nick Saban leads the way in USA Today’s coaching salaries database, and we’ve tried to put his $7.1 million salary in perspective before, but seeing again how much more he makes than everyone else is still an annual amazement. The four-time national champion and coach of the current No. 1 team is a full $2 million ahead of the third-highest-paid coach, Oklahoma’s Bob Stoops, who beat Saban in the Sugar Bowl last season.

Some of those numbers don’t exactly match each coach’s reported annual salary. That’s because they include bonuses and such. For example, Michigan State’s Mark Dantonio ranks No. 2 on the list at $5.6 million, but his new deal pays him $3.6 million, a top-20 figure. The USA Today number includes a $2 million bonus he got for sticking around seven years in East Lansing.

The USAT list also doesn’t include all private schools, since those schools don’t have to publicize contract details. You can decide for yourself whether to believe Notre Dame’s Brian Kelly, at least once the subject of NFL team interest, makes only $1.5 million.

Here’s the average for each conference -- the Pac-12, for one, would have a bigger number if private schools were included, as USC’s Steve Sarkisian reportedly makes almost $3 million.