The salary arms race continues in earnest in big-time college football, and Ohio State is the latest to pull the trigger on pay increases for some on the coaching staff.
According to a report from the Columbus Dispatch, nine assistant football coaches received salary increases. The information was obtained from an open records request according to the Dispatch’s Joey Kaufman.
New offensive coordinator Brian Hartline is the headliner with a pay increase to $1.6 million, up from the $950,000 he received as the wide receivers coach in 2022 with the added passing game coordinator added to his title.
But Hartline is not the only notable increase. In fact, five assistants are now making more than $1 million annually: defensive coordinator Jim Knowles ($1.96 million), defensive line coach Larry Johnson ($1.17 million), offensive line coach Justin Frye ($1 million) and secondary coach Tim Walton ($1 million).
Ohio State raises salaries for football assistant coaches to more than $9 million https://t.co/9Vf1e7RTyM
— Columbus Dispatch (@DispatchAlerts) March 16, 2023
In the case of Knowles and Johnson, they received a 3% increase, while Frye ($800,000) and Walton ($700,000) saw significant increases.
Keenan Bailey, Parker Fleming, Tony Alford, Perry Eliano and Corey Dennis also received 3% or higher bumps in pay to round out the total on-field salary pool to $9.3 million.
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