Kirby Smart continues to dominate the college football headlines dynamic either by a few incredible wins on his bag or a dreadful slip (against Alabama) in a nail-biting season. But that’s not it. The veteran coach has been a recurring theme among the CFB fans since last Saturday for his hasty move on the MS State Quarterback Michael Van Buren. Despite Smart trying to cover the controversy with a ‘reached out’ theory, the fire is still raging. You can join the crowd and add to his insult for the nasty run-in or choose to admire him for the lofty annual paycheck, making him at the helm of the highest-paid coaches’ list for the year. But if you go by the second, you better buckle up to let go of that delight anytime when it calls for, with Dabo Swinney inching closer.

Kirby Smart’s stats have been largely impressive in his impactful tenure as the Bulldogs’ coach. The legend stands at an outstanding 97-17 in his ninth season with Georgia, with two national championships and two SEC championships. As a reward for his consistent supremacy, the Bulldogs’ regents cemented his deal with the team more firmly with a lucrative 10-year contract. The newly released pay scale stirred the discussion with a massive 13.003 million figure as an annual salary.

Starting from Ryan Day to Kalen DeBoer and Steve Sarkisian, all the bigwigs were left behind with the surge. But if you pay close attention to the trajectory of Clemson Tigers, Dabo Swinney, who rakes in $11.009 million as per the annual USA Today Sports Salary, has a good chance to overtake the grand of the 48-year-old veteran shortly.

Digging deeper into the detailed pay board, Smart’s total worth outside the athletic realm is $13,282,580. The way he jumped from a rate of $10.5 million to 13 million this year is unmatched. Regardless of Swinney lurking nearby to snatch the top spot, Kirby Smart became an exclusive brand monetarily and authentically.

Now, it begs the question: can the new deal and salary revision stop Smart from jumping ship to the NFL?

Will Kirby Smart move to the NFL, ditching the lucrative Georgia pay?

Smart didn’t opt for any random coaching job mindlessly. Rather, he needs to connect emotionally wherever he gets planted. If you pay attention, you will see that he mostly took a job at his alma mater, a place where he can vest his all beyond the professional grit. The way he and his family connect to the Georgia Bulldogs is a pretty rare sight in the CFB reality.

Now, with the contract extension, his pocket gets fat as well to a level that very few coaches can even think of. Only five coaches in the NFL make more money than Smart currently does in Georgia.

Smart recently received the call for an open position in the NFL. Earlier this week, the New York Jets let go of the head coach Robert Saleh and is on the watch for someone to take over the reigns. Coach Smart’s name has been reportedly listed, but the Georgia mogul seems to pay no heed. It would be a surprising move, but we have seen even the GOAT coach at the Dolphins before he took over and solidified his champion legacy at the Crimson Tide.