Kirby Smart 100 million contract

ATHENS — Georgia announced a contract extension for Kirby Smart that will pay the Bulldogs’ seventh-year head football coach through the 2031 season approximately 112.5 million over the next 10 campaigns

Smart will make $10.25 million this (2022) season and increase annually to where he is set to make $12.25 million in the final year of his deal.

Smart’s contract is believed to make him the highest-paid coach in the nation on the heels of Georgia winning the 2021 CFP Championship Game over Alabama, 33-18 and producing an NFL-record 15 picks in the 2022 draft.

Smart, notably, is 14-7 versus Top 10 opponents, built a defense that set a modern-era record allowing 6.9 points per game during a 12-0 regular season in 2021 and has led UGA to five consecutive Top-7 finishes.

GRIFFITH: Why Georgia should pay Kirby Smart at least $10 million annually

USC coach Lincoln Riley has a contract reportedly worth $11 million per year that includes 24/7 usage of the private school’s private jet. Riley’s actual contract has not been made public, however, because it is a private school.

Smart, who took over before the 2016 season, released a statement on the new deal:

“Mary Beth, my family & I are excited and grateful for the extension of my agreement with The University of Georgia. This is home for us, our roots run deep here. My commitment to this University and our Football program is unwavering,” Smart said. “I’m thankful to President Jere Morehead and Josh Brooks for their continued support of Georgia Football. It’s an honor being the head football coach at the University of Georgia, and while I’m certainly proud of what we’ve been able to accomplish, I’m confident the best is yet to come!”

UGA athletic director Josh Brooks is optimistic about the future with Smart.

“Coach Smart’s impact on the University of Georgia extends far past his significant accolades as our head football coach,” Brooks said. “He and his wife are Bulldogs through and through, and it is evident that Athens and UGA mean as much to him as he means to us. I am excited for our football program’s continued success under his direction. The future of Georgia Football remains bright with Coach Smart as its steadfast leader.”

Smart, 46, was operating under a contract extension he signed in May of 2018 that included a 7-year extension worth $49 million that ranked 12th in the nation prior to the deal announced on Thursday.

Smart’s 2018 contract had made him the sixth-highest-paid coach at the time he signed it.

The coaches making more money than him then, with their salaries at the time were: Nick Saban ($8.3 million per year), Urban Meyer ($7.6), Jim Harbaugh ($7.5), Jimbo Fisher ($7.5) and Gus Malzahn ($6.7).

Georgia has also recently announced significant raises for offensive coordinator Todd Monken (from $1.25 million to $2 million) and tight ends coach Todd Hartley (from $450,000 to $650,000).

UGA led the SEC in assistant salary pool pay last season at $7.93 million and it now stands at an estimated $8.175 million.

Current Head Coach Salaries

(Average per year, as reported by SportsNaut or otherwise noted)

1. Lincoln Riley (USC) $11 million

2. Kirby Smart (Georgia)

3. Nick Saban (Alabama), $10.6 million*

4. Brian Kelly (LSU), $9.50

4. Mel Tucker (Michigan State), $9.50,

4. Ryan Day (Ohio State), $9.50

7. David Shaw (Stanford), $8.92

8. Dabo Swinney (Clemson), $8.37

9. Mario Cristobal (Miami), $8.00

10. Jimbo Fisher (Texas A&M) $7.50

11. Lane Kiffin (Ole Miss) $7.25

12. Jim Harbaugh (Michigan) $7.05 million

* including annual $800,000 annual service bonus (2021-2025), per AL.com report.

Kirby Smart Georgia salary by the years

(Coaching and on-field bonuses in parenthesis)

2016 $3.75 million salary

$50,000 Bonuses (Played in Independence Bowl)

2017: $3.75 million salary

$1.35 million Bonuses (Won SEC Championship Game $400,000, Runner-up national title game $600,000, Top 5 finish $200,000, SEC Coach of Year $50,000, National Coach of Year $100,000).

2018: $6.6 million salary

$275,000 Bonuses (Played in SEC title game $100,000, New Year’s Six Bowl $175,000).

2019: $6.7 million salary

$275,000 Bonuses (Played in SEC title game $100,000, New Year’s Six Bowl $175,000).

2020: $6.8 million salary

$175,000 Bonuses (New Year’s Six Bowl $175,000)

2021: 7.0 million salary

$1.085 million Bonuses (925,000 Max Team Bonus; Played in SEC title game $100,000, CFP Bowl $175,000, won national title $700,000). $50,000 SEC Coach of the Year (AP), $100,000 National Coach of the Year (Sporting News).