Ranking the SEC’s highest paid college football coaches in 2023

Nick Saban, Kirby Smart, and yes, Jimbo Fisher rank firmly among the SEC’s highest paid football coaches of 2023.

Texas A&M (4-1, 2-0 SEC) is in the midst of a pivotal 2023 season not only because of their pursuit of rebounding from their 5-7 campaign a year ago. It’s no secret the fiscal number attached to A&M’s head coach is at the top of so many people’s minds within the college football media landscape.

Two years ago, Texas A&M gave head football coach Jimbo Fisher a 10-year, $95 million extension to make him one of the highest-paid coaches in the country. Naturally, his track record of success in College Station has consistently been tied to the paychecks being handed to him by A&M.

Fisher appears to have his team on the right trajectory, as they sit tied for first in the SEC West with a monumental matchup against Alabama on the horizon. But as it pertains to his contract number, it begs the question of how exactly his contract stacks up with the other head coaches in his conference.

USA TODAY Sports compiled a ranking of the highest-paid college football coaches, updated as of Monday, Oct. 2. The breadth of the data is intriguing, but for the purposes of this breakdown, we’re keen to understand how the SEC’s 14 coaches stack up with one another.

Below is a full look at the SEC’s highest-paid college football coaches in 2023, courtesy of USA TODAY Sports. The rankings are broken down by total pay, maximum bonus, and the school buyout number.