Steve Sarkisian has job perks that would make Nick Saban blush in new Texas contract

It is good to be Steve Sarkisian. For a guy who seems to have brought Texas back, he is now being paid by the university like he is running a Fortune 500 company or the supreme overlord of a small, landlocked European nation. Sarkisian has seen his Longhorns team improve in each season since he has been in Austin, resulting in the program's first trip to the College Football Playoff in December.

While some people may be appalled by what Sarkisian is making in his new contract, I would suggest getting over it as fast as you can. This is one of the most lucrative jobs in the country. The financial resources Texas has are out the wazoo. Now that Texas is back to winning at a prolifically high level that means more and more students will want to go there, thus making it even harder to get into.

Here are some of the highlights of what Sarkisian is getting in his new contract to lead Texas.

• 78 percent salary increase: $10.3 million annually for 2024 with a $100,000 escalator with each subsequent season.
• Two automobiles of his choosing.
• 20 hours of personal use on a private jet. Unused hours do not carry over.
• A one-time special payment of $300,000 before April 1, 2024.
• Up to 12 tickets for every Texas football home game. Up to eight tickets for every Texas football away game. Up to six tickets to all home games for every other Texas sporting event.

He also garners a boatload of financial incentives based on how much he wins while leading Texas.

To be fair, who wouldn't love to have nearly a day's worth of time in the air per year on a private jet?

Steve Sarkisian's Texas contract incentives are that of an elite head coach

For Sarkisian to be making $10 million-plus annually, I have no problem with that. That is the going rate for a top-10 head coach in the country. I am not sure where exactly Sarkisian falls in that pecking order, but he is definitely closer to five than he is to 10. However, I do understand how 20 hours of private use for a private jet could be off-putting. Then again, this is all about the game of recruiting.

Texas is a massive college football brand, but it is also a national one. Going to the SEC will do wonders for their recruitment, but that also means you have to keep pace with the Alabamas and Georgias of the world. SEC football is serious business, one that Sarkisian knows all about from his time serving on Saban's staff on multiple occasions at Tuscaloosa. This is the price to do business.

Overall, what the contract extension details says to me is that Sarkisian is already at the top of his profession. It was not looking like that even two years ago. With the College Football Playoff expanding from four to 12 teams, odds are that most years Texas will be part of it. The Longhorns just need to be one of the four or five best teams in the SEC on an annual basis. Sarkisian can do this.

We can only hope that Sarkisian uses the private jet to improve Texas, rather than going to Bermuda.