With both education and nonprofit pay in the news, ERI recently published a whitepaper analyzing why nonprofits in the education industry pay higher, on average than other nonprofit industries. The results showed that athletic head coaches are one of the highest-paid positions at education-based nonprofits. But just how much do the highest-paid athletic head coaches make? To answer that question, below is a list of the top 10 highest-paid athletic head coaches at nonprofits for the most-recent complete fiscal year (2017).
- Matthew Rhule – Head Football Coach, Baylor University
- $7,253,233 in salary. $49,299 in additional “other” pay.
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- Michael W Krzyzewski – Coach [Men’s Basketball], Duke University
- $5,928,000 in salary. $1,319,451 in additional “other” pay.
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- Patrick W Fitzgerald II – Head Coach [Football], Northwestern University
- $5,086,657 in salary. $58,280 in additional “other” pay.
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- Gary A Patterson – Head Football Coach, Texas Christian University
- $4,795,278 in salary. $105,498 in additional “other” pay.
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- Kirby P Smart – Head Football Coach, University Of Georgia
- $4,300,000 in salary. $47,649 in additional “other” pay.
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- Mr Jerold T Wright – Men’s Basketball Head Coach, Villanova University
- $4,369,349 in salary. $40,955 in additional “other” pay.
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- David Shaw – Director of Football – Stanford University
- $4,131,808 in salary. $481,899 in additional “other” pay.
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- Mark Richt – Head Coach, Football, University Of Miami
- $3,990,764 in salary. $49,104 in additional “other” pay.
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- Paul Johnson – Head Football Coach, Georgia Tech
- $3,416,828 in salary. $50,738 in additional “other” pay.
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- James P Dixon – Mens Basketball Coach, Texas Christian University
- $3,395,083 in salary. $28,318 in additional “other” pay.
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It’s worth noting here that, although some top athletic program heads command a multimillion-dollar salary, the average pay for top athletic positions in 2017 was significantly lower, at $341,859 in salary. This is compared to $380,371 in average salary during 2016. For a more in-depth analysis of nonprofit pay, see ERI’s recent whitepaper “How Much Do Education Nonprofits Pay?”
Looking for more information?
Detailed nonprofit executive compensation data, including source documents and historic data, can be found in ERI’s Nonprofit Comparables Assessor. Also see how this list compares to the Top 10 Highest-Paid Athletic Head Coaches at Nonprofits in 2019.
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