2024 NCAA football assistant coach salaries methodology

To determine the total pay packages of Football Bowl Subdivision assistant coaches for their current contract years, USA TODAY Sports requested contracts and related documents for the coaches at all schools that are subject to open-records disclosure or must make some type of disclosure about employees’ pay. More than 20 FBS schools or athletics departments are private or are public schools covered under state law exempting them from releasing full compensation data on coaches.

A not available (–) in the chart denotes schools that are private or did not release the information.

Listings are based on rosters of schools’ 10 primary on-field assistants. That group of 10 is based on those who were employed in such roles before the NCAA Division I Council eliminating limits on the number of on-field assistants as of June 26, 2024, or a replacement for one of those 10 before the 2024 season started. (Western Michigan is listed with 12 due to the timing of Jeff Popovich’s resignation; that occurred just before training camp, but after the NCAA had lifted the limit. Air Force, Army and Navy are listed with 14 because the service academies were allowed to have that many assistants before the limit was lifted.)

COMPENSATION CATEGORIES

TOTAL PAY: Includes base salary on an annualized basis, except as noted; annualized income from contract provisions other than base salary paid, or guaranteed, by the university or affiliated organizations, such as a foundation. Examples include payments as consideration for: shoe and apparel use; television, radio or other media appearances; personal appearances. Except as noted, these amounts are based on the coach’s annual pay rate for a full, standard-length contract year; they do not reflect amounts earned for a partial year worked immediately after hiring or a partial year worked at an annual pay rate other than the current amount.

It also includes deferred payments earned annually; contractual annual expense accounts (if unaudited); cash housing allowances; amounts that contracts described as signing bonuses or other one-time bonuses earned in the current contract year.

It does not include amounts that contracts stated were paid by the school in conjunction with a buyout a coach owed his previous employer, or that schools told USA TODAY Sports they had paid in conjunction with a buyout a coach owed his previous employer. It also does not include the value of standard university benefits such as health care or the value of potentially taxable items such as cars; country club memberships; game tickets; standard relocation allowances; the value of spouse/family travel; or athletically related compensation received from non-university sources. (The NCAA requires athletics department employees to annually disclose athletically related income from non-university sources if it totals more than $600 in a year.)

MAXIMUM BONUS: The greatest amount that can be received if the team meets on-field performance goals (including wins totals, bowl game appearances, conference and national championships, coaching awards, etc.), academic or player-conduct goals.

ASSISTANT COACHES PAY TOTAL: Sum of the Total Pay figures for the assistant coaches at the given school, not including the strength coach.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 2024 NCAA football assistant coach salaries methodology