Back-to-back College Football Playoff Semifinals appearances for Texas means back-to-back massive enhancements to coach Steve Sarkisian's Texas contract.
And now?
Now, the Longhorns are committing almost $80 million to their head coach, who's under contract through the 2031 seasons.
With full details being made available Thursday, the value of Sarkisian's contract sets a record for any Texas head coach and keeps Sarkisian near the top of all college football coaches.
Consider: Texas is committing almost exactly $80 million to Sarkisian to have him signed through 2031 -- and that's a figure that doesn't include performance bonuses.
In this CFP era, it is commonplace for coaches to have a seven-figure bonus tied to his team's CFP run if it culminates in a national championship. Notre Dame, for example, had agreed to a $1 million-plus bonus for coach Marcus Freeman, who guided the Irish to the CFP title game where it lost to Ohio State.
As for Sarkisian, the soon-to-be 51-year-old coach who's won 25 of his last 30 games atop the Texas program, his salary breaks down as follows:
He's guaranteed $10.8 million for 2025, and eclipses the $11 million mark beginning in 2026 with his guaranteed $250k escalator already built into this deal.
That escalator is present across the life of the deal, which means by 2030 at the latest that Sarkisian is scheduled to be making more than $12 million.
Presently, Georgia's Kirby Smart and Ohio State's Ryan Day are the only college coaches at or above $12 million annually; Day is less than a month from receiving a massive raise and extension after guiding the Buckeyes to the CFP crown Jan. 20 in Atlanta.