Being the head football coach at a place like Ohio State comes with a lot of criticism but also a ton of benefits. Perhaps the main one, of course, is the compensation at a place that isn’t afraid to back the BRINKS truck up to try and compete with the best of the best.
And while head coach Ryan Day’s original compensation package wasn’t among the best in college football, as he’s had success on and off the field, the dollar signs have grown to where he now is.
One thing we look forward to on an annual basis is the head coaches salary database released by out mothership, USA TODAY. We just received it earlier this week and it’s interesting to see how coaching salaries compare not only across the country, but within the Big Ten.
Day is up there when comparing both, but for purposes of what we’re ranking here, we are going to look at his salary among his peers in the conference. How does he rank when comparing with guys like Jim Harbaugh at Michigan, James Franklin at Penn State, and Iowa’s Kirk Ferentz?
Before we get started, it must be noted that David Braun at Northwestern is not included because of the institution being a private university and not subject to disclosing the salary of its coaches. Also, Mel Tucker is still included in the list to compare against, but he is obviously no longer employed as Michigan State’s head coach.
So, that leaves us with a ranking of 13 of the 14 coaches in the Big Ten based on what has been disclosed
And. Here. We. Go.