See how Brian Kelly's salary/buyout stacks up against top coaches.

Saban retiring definitely got a few people paid. Norvell $63M buyout

Surprised Napier's is still that high at $27.7M

That is what you call “chump change” my friend. Chump Change.

Billy Napier finna get paidddddd

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Am I right if I say there are only two active college coaches who have won a national championship?

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Mack Brown and Kirby Smart. That's all.

Dabo

Why is Lincoln Riley blank?

If Sark runs the table this year, will an NFL team show up with some bags of money?

He's the one guy high on that list with decent hybrid credentials (albeit 3 seasons out of his 25 in coaching) and doubtful another college team could outbid Texas.

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Kirby with 118M buyout

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A couple of Natty's will get you that, I guess.

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Even more shocking - Kalen DeBoer 70M buyout

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Not viewed from the perspective of when he was hired. He was at a successful program and had just played for a natty. He was also being asked to replace a legendary coach in a place where the power brokers can be very fickle. Guarantees are the inducement to leave a comfortable situation to walk into a potential hornet's nest, Hindsight seems to indicate the guarantees may be problematic but only time will tell.

The coaches hold (almost) ALL of the leverage in negotiations because the supply (of potential championship coaches) is low and the demand is high. That's why BK got the contract he did, and why (contrary to what some on here want to believe) he's not going anywhere soon regardless of how this season turns out. At minimum, BK is going to be coaching the 2025 and 2026 seasons barring him retiring or some sort of scandal where LSU can fire him for cause.

The key though is for Woodward to not allow himself to be leveraged into an unnecessary extension. The original Jimbo contract was astronomical at the time 10 years, $75M. But if that contract were still in place the $7.5M annual salary would only be 17th on the list today. However, Jimbo was able to use a solid 2020 season to leverage A&M into ripping up the old deal and giving him a raise along with an extension. That forced the school to keep him for two more useless years and eat a big buyout.

I don't care if BK makes the CFP or even wins the NC this year. Don't EXTEND the contract. It's only year 3. If at (going on) 64 years old he wants to leverage another school into a massive deal and take multiple years to rebuild that program into a contender, so be it. I suspect if the AD called his bluff he would stay at a program that would be (almost) "built" in LSU on his current contract.