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Where Oregon's Dan Lanning ranks among highest-paid college football coaches

Jarrid Denneyby:Jarrid Denney•10/03/23•

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© Chris Pietsch/The Register-Guard / USA TODAY NETWORK

Earlier this week, USA Today Sports released its annual list of college football salaries. Oregon’s Dan Lanning ranks among the high-paid coaches in the sport.

According to the publication, after signing a contract extension with UO earlier this year, Lanning earns an annual salary of $6,624,999. That ranks 19th nationally and first in the Pac-12 among head coaches whose salaries were made available.

Lanning’s buyout of $44,333,333 ranks 11th nationally and first among Pac-12 head coaches.

“In coaching, you dream to be at a place where you can both raise your family and win at a high level,” Lanning said in July after signing an extension that runs through Jan. 31, 2029. “Oregon has more than exceeded those expectations for my wife, Sauphia, and our three boys, and this will ensure our boys can all graduate from the same school as we continue to grow roots in the community. I am thrilled to be a part of a program that has a shared vision for how to stay on the cutting edge and achieve great success moving forward, and I am grateful to Phil and Penny Knight, Rob Mullens, and President Scholz for their faith and unwavering support of our program.”

To determine pay information for all FBS head coaches, USA Today Sports Sports requested all forms of compensation and pay reductions for the head coach at all 133 schools. There are more than a dozen universities competing at the FBS level that are exempt from releasing that information — including USC and Stanford. So, salaries for their respective head coaches are not available.

A full explainer of USA Today Sport’s methodology for gathering the data can be found here.

Here’s a rundown of where Dan Lanning ranks among college football’s highest-paid head coaches.

Top 25 college football head coach salaries

  1. Nick Saban, Alabama — $11,407,000
  2. Dabo Swinney, Clemson — $10,884,775
  3. Kirby Smart, Georgia — $10,705,600
  4. Ryan Day, Ohio State — $10,271,250
  5. Mel Tucker, Michigan State — $10,015,350
  6. Brian Kelly, LSU — $9,975,000
  7. Jimbo Fisher, Texas A&M — $9,150,000
  8. Mark Stoops, Kentucky — $9,013,600
  9. Josh Heupel, Tennessee — $9,000,000
  10. Lane Kiffin, Mississippi — $9,000,000
  11. James Franklin, Penn State — $8,500,000
  12. Jim Harbaugh, Michigan — $8,254,600
  13. Luke Fickell, Wisconsin — $7,625,000
  14. Mike Gundy, Oklahoma State — $7,625,000
  15. Mike Norvell, Florida State — $7,300,000
  16. Billy Napier, Florida — $7,270,000
  17. Brent Venables, Oklahoma — $7,100,000
  18. Kirk Ferentz, Iowa — $7,000,000
  19. Dan Lanning, Oregon — $6,624,999
  20. Hugh Freeze, Auburn — $6,500,000
  21. Bret Bielema, Illinois — $6,500,000
  22. Sam Pittman, Arkansas — $6,357,000
  23. Kyle Whittingham, Utah — $6,325,000
  24. Shane Beamer, South Carolina — $6,125,000
  25. Eliah Drinkwitz, Missouri — $6,000,000

Pac-12 head coach salaries

  1. Dan Lanning, Oregon — $6,624,999
  2. Kyle Whittingham, Utah — $6,325,000
  3. Chip Kelly, UCLA — $5,979,167
  4. Deion Sanders, Colorado — $5,500,000
  5. Jonathan Smith, Oregon State — $4,850,000
  6. Justin Wilcox, California — $4,400,000
  7. Kalen DeBoer, Washington — $4,200,000
  8. Kenny Dillingham, Arizona State — $3,850,000
  9. Jedd Fisch, Arizona — $3,250,000
  10. Jake Dickert, Washington State — $2,700,000
  • n/a: Lincoln Riley, USC
  • n/a: Troy Taylor, Stanford

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