To a man, most ADs think coaches' contracts are higher than they need to be. But they pay what they pay because, if they don't, someone else will. LSU guaranteed Dave Aranda $10 million to be its defensive coordinator because Texas A&M was willing to pay a similar figure to lure him away.
Texas A&M guaranteed $75 million to Jimbo Fisher to pry him away from Florida State, and Ohio State AD Gene Smith blasted that contract -- along with Nick Saban's $11 million salary at Alabama -- in comments you rarely hear an AD say on the record.
“I don’t even put Texas A&M in our sphere because I’m considering Urban [Meyer]’s situation with three years left on his contract,” Smith said during an Ohio State board meeting, via The Lantern. “Talking with [Susan Basso, vice president of human resources] and [Joanna McGoldrick, associate vice president of total rewards], that’s not even someone that we’re comparing with because it’s so ridiculous.
“It’s the same way with Alabama and their total salary. Take it off the sheet because it doesn’t matter. Because it’s just no value to it. It’s a reactionary type of management.”
Big Ten programs love to tout that they take a more universal approach to athletics than the SEC. Ohio State sponsors 37 varsity sports, while Texas A&M sponsors 18 and Alabama 15.
But even Ohio State must submit to market factors. Urban Meyer made $6.4 million in 2017 according to USA Today, which ranked fourth nationally, and Ohio State's staff pay placed 13th in FBS.