Nick Saban contract details: Rich get richer at Alabama
By John Buhler
Nick Saban is not done being the Alabama football head coach after signing his next extension.
No, longtime Alabama football head coach Nick Saban is not ready to retire just yet, so quit asking!
Saban received a one-year extension and a bump in pay after the University of Alabama board of trustees met Tuesday morning. They approved new deals for Saban, athletic director Greg Byrne, assistant men’s basketball coach Antoine Pettway and gymnastics coach Ashley Johnston. Saban is 70 years old and will be under contract through Feb. 28, 2030 after signing this latest extension.
Here are the details of the new deal Saban has agreed to remain the Alabama football head coach.
Alabama football head coach Nick Saban’s new contract extension details
With this new extension, Saban’s base salary goes up to $305,000 annually, while his talent fee starts at $9.595 million in 2022 and increases to $12.395 million at the end of the 2029 college football season. This means his talent fee escalates an additional $400,000 every single season. Saban’s deal also has an annual contract completion benefit worth $800,000 from 2022 to 2025.
Thus, by combining the base salary ($305,000), the talent fee ($9.595 million) and the contract completion benefit ($800,000), Saban will make $10.7 million for the 2022 college season, making him the highest paid head coach in college football.
This edges out his greatest protege in Georgia football head coach Kirby Smart, who will make $10.25 million this season. Saban’s average salary now is $11.7 million annually over the course of the entire contract.
Keep in mind that while Saban is a seven-time national championship-winning coach, including six since taking over at Alabama in 2007, he will be turning 71 years old on Halloween. Should he coach out the entirety of his Alabama contract, Saban will be 78 years old by the time the current deal expires on Feb. 28, 2030. Is he going to coach that long? He might, but keep an eye on this…
Notice how he has an annual contract completion benefit of $800,000 over the next four seasons. Because he has earned the right to go out on his own terms, look for Saban to keep on coaching the Crimson Tide through at least the 2025 college season. It is free money he would be giving up otherwise. However, it would be wise of Alabama to renew this contract annually for this reason…
It is not about ensuring that Saban remains the highest-paid head coach in his sport more than it is giving off the illusion he can coach forever. By essentially rolling over the contract completion benefit clause, it would signify to prospective recruits that Saban plans to stay in Tuscaloosa until graduation day. Again, there will be three-to-four classes he will be lying to, but this illusion works.
When you are undeniably the best at what you do, you deserve fair and appropriate compensation.
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