THREE BEST DEALS

As part of its annual coaches’ compensation package, USA TODAY has obtained and reviewed the most recent contracts of more than 130 Football Bowl Subdivision coaches over the past year. And for the schools that hired those coaches, some of these contracts are better deals than others. Here are three contracts that provide the best value for their respective schools, based on total compensation, buyout parameters and performance, among other factors.

Rocky Long, San Diego State

The deal is affordable, the results are consistently superb, and that combination will keep Long on this list for the foreseeable future.

The Aztecs again finished with double-digit wins in 2017, even ranking as high as No. 20 in the first Amway Coaches Poll of this season. Yet Long, even with a slight pay raise, is still making a middle-of-the-road salary in the Mountain West. His 2018 total compensation ($873,576) ranks between Utah State’s Matt Wells and New Mexico’s Bob Davie and his university buyout ($447,412 as of Dec. 1) is minuscule, should the Aztecs want to make a change.

Ed Orgeron, LSU

Maybe the Tigers’ 5-0 start to the season will prove to be a mirage. Maybe it won’t. But in either case, LSU will likely find itself comfortable with Orgeron’s deal in the long run.

The 57-year-old is due $3.5 million in 2018, a mild salary by Southeastern Conference standards, and the school would be on the hook for just $5.29 million if it fired him on Dec. 1. In another conference, perhaps, these figures would be significant. But in the SEC, it’s incredibly reasonable, and, if LSU keeps winning, it could wind up being a bargain.

Nick Saban, Alabama

Another year, another national championship for Saban and the Crimson Tide. Though no college football coach in the country makes as much money as Saban, no coach wins titles with as much consistency as he does, either. That makes his otherwise exorbitant compensation ($8.3 million in 2018) a pretty good deal for Alabama.