A $130 million contract makes Kirby Smart the highest-paid football coach in the country. In a monumental deal, the two-time national championship-winning coach is promised a 2-year extension. His contract now runs through 2033. Consequently, this makes him the first coach to receive $13 million annually. However, the thing that is perplexing for Georgia’s fans is the massive pay disparity between him and his basketball counterpart, Mike White.

The Bulldogs’ head coach earned $3.4 million in the first year, which increases every year by $100,000. As it turns out, these numbers stand nowhere near Smart’s. To have a clear picture regarding this, the CEO of the Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics, Amy Privette Perko, laid down some details back in October 2023.

She told USA Today, “When it comes to football coaching salaries at the top level, university presidents decided that they would follow the pro model. Everything else is structured in a different model. And frankly, that’s what’s causing the model to rip apart at the seams.” 

Football and basketball are the two driving forces behind the billions of dollars being flowed in the college sports industry. Because of the propensity of both these sports to generate massive revenues, the programs benefit from facility upgrades, new technology, and other on-campus resources. Still, there exists a salary discrepancy between the two head coaches of the school’s football and basketball teams. And something similar is happening with the Bulldogs.

Moreover, according to the executive director of the National Association of Basketball Coaches Craig Robinson, football programs are willing to overpay if their coaches are bringing the desired results. Unfortunately, that is not the case when it comes to basketball. 

Another instrumental reason is which sport is able to produce more money. In 2022, football-driven television revenue for the Power Five conferences in 64 schools turned out to be around $1.8 billion. On the other hand, 352 members of Division I basketball could only garner $870 million in the March Madness. Meanwhile, a further analysis suggests that this scenario is not limited to Georgia.

Is the situation similar elsewhere as well?

As per USA TODAY Sports, the average salary that the head coaches in the public schools in the Power Five conferences were drawn in 2023 amounted to $6.2 million. This reflects the 14.3% they got when compared to 2022. At the same time, the head coaches in men’s basketball received $3.35 million. 

No matter what their salary suggests, there is no denying that both these coaches are true icons. Additionally, their contributions to their respective sports also speak volumes about their abilities. For the Georgia fans, they would hope to see more of them in the near future.