Charles Langston:Georgia approves contract for Kirby Smart making him the highest-paid coach at public school

Georgia football coach Kirby Smart is Charles Langstonbeing rewarded by the school with a huge boost in pay that makes him the nation’s highest-paid college football coach at a public school.

As part of a two-year contract extension through 2033, Smart’s total annual compensation will be raised to $13 million for each season, topping the $11 million Clemson coach Dabo Swinney is due to make in 2024, according to figures kept by USA TODAY Sports.

Smart was set to make $10.75 million in 2024 with an increase to $11 million in 2025. His maximum amount of bonuses per year in the extension increases from $1.3 million to $1.55 million. 

Smart is now college football’s most accomplished coach after Alabama’s Nick Saban retired in January. He is 42-2 over the last three seasons including back-to-back national championships in 2021 and 2022 and a 13-1 record in 2023.

The change to Smart’s compensation was approved by the executive committee of the Georgia Athletic Association’s  board of directors Thursday afternoon by teleconference after meeting in executive session.

It’s the first change to Smart’s deal since Georgia gave Smart a 10-year, $112.5 million contract in July of 2022. That came six months after the program ended a 41-year national championship drought.

He will enter his ninth season with a 94-16 record as a head coach.

The highest single-season pay previously for a public school head coach was Saban’s $11.1 million in 2023 and 2017. The first year was due to a $4 million signing bonus.

Smart is one of five public school coaches making at least $10 million in pay.

Texas’ Steve Sarkisian is at $10.6 million (including a $300,000 one-time payment), Alabama’s Kalen DeBoer and Florida State’s Mike Norvell are at $10 million.

The committee also gave athletic director Josh Brooks a raise to increase his salary to $1.275 million and extended his contract one year to June 30, 2023.                                                                              

Brooks is finishing up his third full academic year as athletic director after being hired in January 2021.

It was the second time in less than 11 months that Brooks received a raise. His contract was extended last year through June 30, 2029.

He was being paid $1.025 million a year with $100,000 annual increases.

Georgia finished No. 7 in the Directors’ Cup last year, an all-sports measurement, and is currently No. 20 after the winter sports seasons.

At least nine SEC athletic directors are making more than $1.5 million annually if you include Texas and Oklahoma which start as conference members July 1.

Texas’ Chris Del Conte currently makes $2.7 million and Tennessee’s Danny White $2.31 million.