Over the years, there have been some big-baller head coaches in college football who, in a way, bankrupted and finessed their programs. Jimbo Fisher is the poster child, and Brian Kelly is the latest example. But what they do have in common is that they both got fired and are now pretty much jobless right now. Then, there’s one head coach out of the Big Ten who had two fewer wins than Brian Kelly in 2024, and made two more million dollars than him, and still holds one of the top 10 highest-paid head coaching jobs: the one and only Lincoln Riley at USC.

Rilyer’s 2024 has to be his worst stint as head coach. The former Oklahoma head coach, who never had more than two losses for five straight seasons at Norman, went 7-6 in his third season at USC. Still, he got paid like he’s a regular member of the playoffs.

Newly released tax documents from USC revealed that head football coach Lincoln Riley pulled in a $11.8 million in total compensation for the 2024 fiscal year.

When you break the math down, the school essentially paid him about $1.68 million for each of the 7 games the Trojans actually managed to win.

For a program that hasn’t sniffed the natty since the 2000s, paying top-tier, historic money for a rocky 7-6 record is a pretty tough pill for fans and university donors to swallow.

And if you actually put that chunk of cash into perspective here, Riley’s paycheck put him in an elite club as one of the four highest-paid college football coaches across the United States. He was sitting right up there at the money table with the likes of Georgia’s Kirby Smart, Clemson’s Dabo Swinney, and Ryan Day at Ohio State.

The big, glaring difference is that those other coaches make the playoffs each season regardless (Dabo’s 2025 season is the exception here). Meanwhile, Riley hasn’t touched the playoffs since entering the Coliseum back in 2021. His specific financial package included a whopping $10.4 million base salary, a $100,000 bonus, and over a million dollars in other perks and benefits.

USC’s 2024 season was not supposed to be historic by any means. The administration moved to the Big Ten Conference, thinking the grass would be greener on the other side of the map, only to find out it wasn’t as easy as they had advertised or envisioned.

The Trojans suffered painful, heartbreaking regular-season losses to teams like Michigan, Minnesota, Penn State, Maryland, and the University of Washington. Naturally, as the losses piled up, furious fans and sports commentators started loudly asking whether USC should just fire Riley and cut their losses.

Insiders report that Riley has a monstrous buyout clause hanging around $90 million. On top of that, the university previously gave him a $3.43 million housing loan to buy a gorgeous $17 million oceanfront mansion in Palos Verdes. Firing him would cost the university a devastating amount of money that even a wealthy school like USC can’t easily justify.

Because their hands are completely tied by the finances, USC has no choice but to ride with Riley.

That said, 2026 could be the season when everything falls into place for Lincoln Riley and the USC Trojans.

Riley’s only chance to make it worthwhile.

Lincoln Riley has his best chance yet to prove his $11.5+ million salary is worth it in 2026, all thanks to prioritising defense for the first time in his career by bringing in the legendary Gary Patterson as DC.

On par, the biggest reason to be excited is that Riley just landed the number one high school recruiting class in the entire country. In the past, people complained that he only recruited the country’s wide receivers and ignored the tough guys on the lines. This time, USC spent nearly $9 million in NIL money to bring in elite, five-star offensive and defensive linemen, like Luke Wafle. Some of them could be starters by the end of their freshman year.

On top of the talented new freshmen, USC is bringing back 15 starting players from last year’s team. Riley has also touched the transfer market, bringing in impact players like Iowa State transfer cornerback Jontez Williams and Penn State defensive end Zuriah Fisher.

The only thing they need to do is survive brutal home matchups against Oregon and Ohio State. Get a win on the road against Penn State and Indiana, or at least one of them.

Unlike other coaches, Riley is judged for his floor. If Riley makes the playoffs for the first time ever at USC, fans will finally stop complaining about how much he makes for at least until the offseason.