Georgia Makes Kirby Smart The Highest Paid Coach In College Football History
It must be nice to be Kirby Smart right now. Georgia just won the National Title and Kirby Smart is now the richest man in the sport. Life is pretty good right now for the Bulldogs head coach. Smart is a very rich and successful coach. About as good as it gets right now after Nick Saban.
Georgia and Smart have agreed to a contract extension that will make Smart the highest paid coach in the history of College Football. It’s a 10-year contract worth $112.5 million. Smart is now under contract through the 2031 season.
“After guiding Georgia football to its first national championship in 41 years, coach Kirby Smart has agreed to a new 10-year contract that will pay him a record $112.5 million through the 2031 season.
Sources told ESPN that the $112.5 million total would be the most ever paid to a college football coach. Smart’s average salary of $11.25 million would also be tops among coaches. The university announced the long-anticipated contract extension Thursday. Smart will make $10.25 million this season, with his salary rising to $12.25 million by 2031.”
“This is home for us, our roots run deep here,” Smart said in a statement. “My commitment to this university and our football program is unwavering. I’m thankful to president Jere Morehead and [athletic director] 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!”
“Coach Smart’s impact on the University of Georgia extends far past his significant accolades as our head football coach,” Brooks said in a statement. “He and his wife [Mary Beth] 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.”
This deal that Georgia gave Smart blows the Brian Kelly LSU deal out of the water. LSU gave Kelly $95 million to leave Notre Dame. Kirby got substantially more than that. A well deserved pay day after a National Championship winning season. With the way Kirby continues to recruit, he’s worth every penny.
Smart, 46, is 66-15 record in six seasons with the Bulldogs. He’s been in a New Year’s Six bowl at minimum every year he’s been with Georgia. The pairing has worked out about as well as possible since Smart was hired away from Nick Saban’s staff at Alabama. Smart was a former defensive back at Georgia and has done his part to give back to the University he once played for.
