5 college coaches with biggest reductions
College football coaches have been largely insulated from the financial impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, but that doesn’t mean they’re all in the same metaphorical boat.
As part of its annual review of coaches compensation data, USA TODAY also tracked the pay cuts Bowl Subdivision coaches have taken this year in connection with COVID-19. The data show that while most coaches are taking small or moderate cuts, some are losing out on significant sums.
Here are the coaches who are giving up the largest dollar amounts via pay reductions. (Tim Lester of Western Michigan and Mike Norvell of Florida State are taking the largest cut of total compensation, by percentage, at 25%.)
1. Dabo Swinney, Clemson
Pay reduction: $1.25 million
Swinney’s 10-year, $93 million contract makes him one of the highest-paid coaches in college football. But this year he is also taking the largest voluntary pay cut in connection with COVID-19 – agreeing to give up a total of $1.25 million in 2021.
According to an agreement obtained by USA TODAY Sports, Swinney agreed in August to forfeit the $1 million retention bonus he would have otherwise received in January while also postponing an automatic $250,000 raise in his contract, which would have gone into effect next year. His salary for this year is unaffected, so he is not taking a pay cut in the traditional sense. But the $1.25 million in savings will be significant for Clemson as it seeks to put together its budget for 2021.
2. Mike Norvell, Florida State
Pay reduction: $968,750
The Seminoles’ athletic department has faced significant financial challenges in the wake of COVID-19, prompting it to eliminate jobs and cut salaries across the board. This led Norvell to take a 25% reduction of his total compensation through 2021 – one of the largest cuts among FBS head coaches by percentage.
An athletic department spokesperson told The Tallahassee Democrat that Norvell accepted a larger pay cut to help offset reductions for his staff. The firstyear Seminoles coach was due to make $4 million this season prior to the reduction, a 50% raise from what he made at Memphis the year before.
3. Jim Harbaugh, Michigan
Pay reduction: $554,584
With Michigan’s athletic department projecting a $26 million deficit next year, Harbaugh accepted a 10% pay cut – which USA TODAY found to be the industry standard – through the end of the current fiscal year. And because he is once again among the five highestpaid coaches in college football, even a seemingly moderate 10% cut translates to a significant sum.
The 10% reduction is applicable to Harbaugh’s supplemental pay of $5.4 million, in addition to his base salary ($605,000).
But an athletic department spokesperson told USA TODAY that annual payments to Harbaugh’s life insurance policy will not be affected. (As part of his contract with Michigan, the school makes a $2 million premium payment on his life insurance policy every year on Dec. 6.)
4. P.J. Fleck, Minnesota
Pay reduction: $548,320
Fleck, who was scheduled to make $4.6 million in total compensation this year, is taking a 10% pay cut throughout the 2021 fiscal year.
But the school said he also agreed to take a reduction on the last four paychecks he received in the 2020 fiscal year, which amounts to an additional cut of $88,320.
Minnesota’s fourth-year coach told reporters in April that he was happy to take a temporary cut to help the university. “(My wife) Heather and I immediately jumped on it,” he said, according to The St. Paul Pioneer Press. “Anything we can do to continue to help.”
5. Tom Herman, Texas
Pay reduction: $516,250
Herman’s inclusion on the list comes with an asterisk, because it’s not quite as straightforward as it seems. Though his total compensation is in fact being reduced by more than half a million dollars this year, the Longhorns have amended his contract to guarantee that he’ll be repaid that same amount by the end of 2023. So it is, in practice, actually more of a deferral than a pay cut. (Other coaches at Texas have the same arrangement.)
Oklahoma’s Lincoln Riley ranks fifth in terms of actual money forfeited, according to USA TODAY’s data. He has agreed to give up $515,000 over a 12month period, which amounts to roughly a 10% cut of his base salary and supplemental pay.