An updated look at Big 12 head coaches salaries
ESPN’s Pete Thamel reported last night that Kansas State and head football coach Chris Klieman were in the process of finalizing a new contract worth $44 million over the next eight seasons. The contract for the reigning Big 12 champion and four-time FCS national champion coach would go into effect this year at a rate of $4.5 million and eventually reach a total as high as $5.5 million.
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The move, one that locks Klieman in with K-State until 2030, alters the pecking order of salaries within the Big 12. In light of the news, here’s a look at the 14 head coaching salaries.
Mike Gundy – Oklahoma State
Salary: $7.625 million
Gundy agreed to a five-year contract in 2021 approved by the OSU board of regents in 2022. The deal with his alma mater annually adds a one-year extension and increases the salary by $125,000. Gundy also receives an annual retention bonus of $1 million.
Brent Venables – Oklahoma
Salary: $7.1 million
Venables signed a six-year, fully-guaranteed contract worth $43.5 million when Oklahoma hired him from Clemson. It runs through the 2027 season.
Steve Sarkisian – Texas
Salary: $5.6 million
Sarkisian signed a six-year, $34.2 million contract with Texas in 2021. His contract stipulated annual $200,000 increases, so his salary has gone up from its starting figure of $5.2 million to its current $5.6 million.
Lance Leipold – Kansas
Salary: $5 million
Leipold’s 6-7 year with the Jayhawks in 2022 inspired the KU brass to keep the 59-year-old head coach in Lawrence for the long-term. The deal runs through the 2029 season. His pay doubled from its previous $2.4 million level.
Chris Klieman – Kansas State
Salary: $4.5 million
Klieman’s record at K-State since he took over for Bill Snyder in 2019 is 30-20.
Dana Holgorsen – Houston
Salary: $4.3 million
Holgorsen and Houston agreed to an extension through the 2027 season in March of 2022. In four years at Houston, Holgorsen is 27-20. The Cougars followed up a 12-2 2021 campaign with an 8-5 2022. Both years ended in bowl wins.
Joey McGuire – Texas Tech
Salary: $4.1 million
McGuire and Texas Tech agreed to an extension through the 2028 season at the end of the former state champion head coach’s first campaign in Lubbock.
Matt Campbell – Iowa State
Salary: $4 million
Programs from around the country, including in the NFL, have courted Campbell but a six-year deal signed in 2021 has the man who turned the Cyclones into a formidable foe in Ames, Iowa for the long-haul.
Neal Brown – West Virginia
Salary: $4 million
Brown and WVU agreed to a two-year extension through the 2026 season back in April 2021. Brown would be owed 100 percent of the remaining total should he be fired this year without cause.
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Dave Aranda – Baylor
Salary: $3.81 million
When Baylor pulled Aranda from the LSU defensive coordinator spot, they gave him a six-year deal. As a private institution, Baylor does not have to disclose how much the fourth-year head coach makes. USA TODAY lists his salary at $3.81 million per year, though he likely is compensated a higher dollar amount.
Scott Satterfield – Cincinnati
Salary: $3.4 million
Satterfield left Louisville for Cincy as it begins its Big 12 journey. He signed a six-year deal that pays him $3.4 million in year one and increases annually by $100,000.
Gus Malzahn – UCF
Salary: $2.3 million
Malzahn signed a five-year, $11.5 million contract in 2021 that pays him $2.3 million per year. The former Auburn head coach received a $21.5 million buyout from the Tigers after they dismissed him in December of 2020.
Sonny Dykes – TCU
Salary: N/A
The private institution does not have to release details about much it is paying the coach who led the Horned Frogs to the College Football Playoff national championship game in his first year. The Fort Worth Star Telegram reported in December that Dykes received a one-year extension through 2028 and a significant pay raise that would “put Dykes near the top of the Big 12.”
Kalani Sitake – BYU
Salary: N/A
Details of Sitake’s salary aren’t available due to BYU’s private nature, but the former BYU running back’s salary is likely in the top half of the Big 12. After receiving an updated contract in the summer of 2021, Sitake earned another extension from BYU a couple of months after the ensuing 10-3 season.
