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Kentucky has won another SEC title, but for a change, it’s not a basketball one. And it’s definitely not a football one, so what can it be?
Surprisingly or not, Kentucky has the highest-paid pair of football and basketball coaches. The school dished out a combined $10.5 million to Mark Stoops and John Calipari last season, just ahead of Alabama’s total compensation of $9.89 million for Nick Saban and Avery Johnson.
Despite the fact that three of the SEC’s highest-paid coaches – Mark Richt, Steve Spurrier and Gary Pinkel — have been replaced by lesser-paid ones – Kirby Smart, Will Muschamp and Barry Odom, respectively – nine of the conference’s schools are paying at least a combined $6 million to its football and basketball coaches. Coincidentally, the three schools that have changed their football coaches – Georgia, South Carolina and Missouri – all fall under that $6 million figure in compensation.
Calipari has had 19 Wildcats selected in the first round of the NBA Draft, but he has won only one national championship in his seven seasons in Lexington. Over that same span, Saban has sent 17 first-rounders to the NFL, but his Crimson Tide teams have won four national titles.
Measured on that standard alone, the SEC’s top-earning football coach might be underpaid.
Related: SEC head coach salaries 2016
Not counting what Vanderbilt’s Derek Mason earns per year, Will Muschamp ($3 million) and Barry Odom ($2.35 million) are the only SEC coaches who will make less than the $3.5 million Stoops is slated to bring home in 2016. As bad as Kentucky has been lately, that’s still a lot of dough for a guy whose teams have yet to reach a bowl game and whose record in three seasons is 12-24.
On the flip side, now that basketball coach Billy Kennedy agreed to a new five-year deal with Texas A&M three months ago, we’re confident he will get more than the $1 million made last season, arguably the Aggies’ best in their history. Not only did A&M share the SEC regular-season title with Kentucky, it pulled off one of the greatest comeback victories of all time when it rallied from a 12-point deficit with 44 seconds left in regulation to force overtime before eventually beating Northern Iowa, 92-88, in double-OT in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
Kennedy was such a bargain last season that he and Kevin Sumlin ($5 million) ranked ninth in the SEC in combined salary. Among current conference football coaches, only Saban earns more than Sumlin, who has gone 36-16 with the Aggies after an 11-2 season in his first year in College Station.
| SCHOOL | FB COACH | SALARY | BB COACH | SALARY | TOTAL |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Kentucky | Mark Stoops | $3.5 million | John Calipari | $7.0 million | $10.5 million |
| 2. Alabama | Nick Saban | $7.09 million | Avery Johnson | $2.8 million | $9.89 million |
| 3. Arkansas | Bret Bielema | $4.06 million | Mike Anderson | $2.2 million | $6.26 million |
| t4. Auburn | Gus Malzahn | $4.35 million | Bruce Pearl | $2.275 million | $6.625 million |
| t4. Ole Miss |
Hugh Freeze | $4.7 million | Andy Kennedy | $1.925 million | $6.625 million |
| 6. Tennessee | Butch Jones | $4.13 million | Rick Barnes | $2.25 million | $6.38 million |
| 7. Florida | Jim McElwain | $4.25 million | Mike White | $2 million | $6.25 million |
| 8. Mississippi State | Dan Mullen | $4 million | Ben Howland | $2.05 million | $6.05 million |
| 9. Texas A&M | Kevin Sumlin | $5.0 million | Billy Kennedy | $1.0 million | $6.0 million |
| 10. LSU | Les Miles | $4.39 million | Johnny Jones | $1.5 million | $5.89 million |
| 11. Georgia | Kirby Smart | $3.75 million | Mark Fox | $2.0 million | $5.75 million |
| 12. South Carolina | Will Muschamp | $3.0 million | Frank Martin | $2.2 million | $5.2 million |
| 13. Missouri | Barry Odom | $2.35 million | Kim Anderson | $1.1 million | $3.45 million |
(NOTE: Vanderbilt is a private institution and thus does not have to make its coaching salaries public information.)
Stan Chrapowicki is a contributing writer for Saturday Down South. He covers SEC football, Alabama and Auburn.
