The University of Texas system board of regents are set to award Steve Sarkisian the richest contract in school history.
The athletics department has offered the newly-hired coach a 6-year deal worth $34.2 million in salary. Sarkisian will make $5.2 million in 2021 and rising $200,000 per year, up to a final total of $6.2 million in 2026. While the total value of the contract is greater than anything Tom Herman ever got, the $5.2 million Sarkisian will earn is lower than the $6 million pre-pandemic salary Herman netted.
In addition to the $34.2 million in total salary, Sarkisian is eligible for a $1.2 million retention bonus on Dec. 31, 2024 and up to $675,000 in incentives.
Furthermore, Texas regents are set to approve contracts for the following Longhorns assistants:
Offensive coordinator/OL coach Kyle Flood: 3 years -- $1 million (2021), $1.175 million (2022), $1.25 million (2023)
Special teams coordinator/TEs coach Jeff Banks: 3 years -- $1 million (2021), $1.05 million (2022), $1.1 million (2023)
DL coach Bo Davis: 3 years -- $875,000 (2021), $900,000 (2022), $925,000 (2023)
Pass game coordinator/CBs coach Terry Joseph: 2 years -- $750,000 (2021), $800,000 (2022)
Co-defensive coordinator/ILBs coach Jeff Choate: 2 years -- $500,000 (2021), $575,000 (2022)
Head strength coach Torre Becton: 2 years -- $500,000 (2021), $525,000 (2022)
WRs coach Andre Coleman: 2 years -- $450,000 (2021), $500,000 (2022)
Safeties coach Blake Gideon: 2 years -- $400,000 (2021), $425,000 (2022)
Deals for defensive coordinator/OLBs coach Pete Kwiatkowski and run game coordinator/RBs coach Stan Drayton are structured differently than their peers.
Kwiatkowski got a 3-year deal at $1.7 million per year with no annual raise, paid to his LLC.
Drayton received a 2-year deal at $650,000 per year.
The total compensation for Sarkisian and his 11 top assistants will be will be $13.025 million, up from the $12.81 million Texas paid Herman and his staff -- and that's without information for quarterbacks coach AJ Milwee, whose contract was not forwarded for approval by the athletics department.
Here is a breakdown of what the Texas staff will earn in 2021, compared to what each coach was paid at their previous post in 2020 according to the USA Today salary database.
Salary information for Bo Davis and Joseph was not publicly available; Davis worked in the NFL and Joseph at Notre Dame.
The regents are set to approve the contracts next week.
As always, stay tuned to The Scoop for the latest.