Steve Sarkisian's going from the nation's highest-paid assistant coach to among the sport's top-15 in head coaching salaries.
Sarkisian's getting a deal worth more than $34 million, including a starting salary for 2021 of $5.2 million. The value of the contract was first reported by Horns247.
Additionally, FootballScoop has learned that Sarkisian's deal – which in its original form includes annual escalators to lift the salary to and above $6 million in its back-end years – also includes a guaranteed retention bonus in the middle years of the pact.
Tom Herman was college football's 11th-highest paid head coach, according to the USA Today Coaches' Salary Database, and Texas incurred a $15 million buyout to purge Herman last weekend.
Between Sarkisian's new deal, Texas' commitment to giving Sarkisian ample resources for hiring his staff and the outgoing costs of terminating Herman & Co., which various reports place at more than $25 million, the Longhorns are committing more than $60 million to its football program in this transition.
Sources told FootballScoop on Tuesday that Sarkisian's assistant coaches' salary pool, something key to Sarkisian on the front end of the discussions, would be an unprecedented commitment to hiring top assistant coaches.
For a look at Sarkisian's offensive staff go here.
On the defensive side look here.
As always, stay tuned to The Scoop for the latest coaching news.