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Texas AD: Possible raise, contract extension talks with Steve Sarkisian will happen soon

kirk bohls, austin american-statesman
·2 min read
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Texas athletic director Chris Del Conte, left, said he plans to discuss a possible contract extension and raise for head football coach Steve Sarkisian, right, in the next few weeks. Sarkisian has three years left on his contract and is the country's 30th highest-paid coach.
Texas athletic director Chris Del Conte, left, said he plans to discuss a possible contract extension and raise for head football coach Steve Sarkisian, right, in the next few weeks. Sarkisian has three years left on his contract and is the country's 30th highest-paid coach.

Texas athletic director Chris Del Conte plans to meet with head football coach Steve Sarkisian "in the next couple of weeks" to discuss a possible raise and contract extension, he told the American-Statesman on Friday.

Sarkisian, who has three years left on his contract, makes $5.6 million annually. That ranks him only 30th in the country on the list of head football coaches' salaries and would be just 14th among the 16 in the Southeastern Conference when Texas and Oklahoma join their new league July 1.

“We’ll sit down in the next couple of weeks and hammer something out,” Del Conte said. “We’ll discuss the season and have a conversation.”

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Sarkisian has received $300,000 in incentive bonuses to bring his pay to $5.9 million. He also will get an automatic $80,000 pay bump for next season and another payout of $480,000 if he is still the Longhorns coach on Dec. 31.

Texas football coach Steve Sarkisian makes $5.6 million annually, which ranks him 30th in the country among head coaches and 14th out of the soon-to-be 16 coaches in the SEC. The Longhorns are coming off a 12-2 CFP season.
Texas football coach Steve Sarkisian makes $5.6 million annually, which ranks him 30th in the country among head coaches and 14th out of the soon-to-be 16 coaches in the SEC. The Longhorns are coming off a 12-2 CFP season.

Alabama's Nick Saban leads all coaches with a salary of $11.4 million, followed by Georgia’s Kirby Smart at $10.9 million. Seven of the 10 highest-paid coaches are in the SEC, and all make $9 million or more.

The two lowest-paid SEC head coaches are new Mississippi State coach Jeff Lebby, the former Oklahoma offensive coordinator, at $4.5 million and Vanderbilt’s Charlie Lea at $3.05 million.

Del Conte was still excited about the future after Texas’ 12-2 season, despite losing to No. 2 Washington 37-31 in Monday’s Sugar Bowl. The Longhorns trailed by 13 points halfway through the fourth quarter but rallied to give themselves a chance and, after tremendous throws by Quinn Ewers and catches by Jordan Whittington and Jaydon Blue, Ewers threw the ball into the end zone on the last three plays of the game.

“We still had a chance to win,” Del Conte said. “To me, the game was great. If you objectively watch the game, (Washington’s Michael Penix Jr.) made some great throws. He put some balls in great spots. But we have the ball for just five plays in the third quarter. We ran the ball on them, no problem, but the play-calling completely changes because you have to get back in the game.”

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Texas football coach Steve Sarkisian in line for big bucks