Gophers football has one of the highest-paid GMs in college football, report says

Minnesota is doing its best to adapt to the modern college football landscape.

Aug 28, 2025; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Golden Gophers players take the field before the game against the Buffalo Bulls at Huntington Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Krohn-Imagn Images | Matt Krohn-Imagn Images

The Minnesota Golden Gophers football program reportedly has one of the 20 highest-paid general managers in the country. That sentence wouldn't have made much sense even five years ago, but that's the modern world of college football.

USA Today published a story on Thursday ranking the highest-paid GMs in college football. Minnesota's Gerrit Chernoff came in at No. 17 with a $410,000 salary

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Chernoff has worked with P.J. Fleck dating back to Western Michigan in 2016. He was the director of player personnel at Iowa State from 2009 to 2015, he held the same title with the Broncos in 2016, and he has been the general manager at Minnesota since Fleck arrived in 2017. His title was modified to assistant athletic director/general manager, according to the school.

"Gerrit Chernoff is the greatest GM in the country. Not only is he a really, really special friend to me, he got 35 on the ACT, he didn't have to retake, didn't want to retake it," Fleck said after Minnesota's win over Nebraska. "He's a Big Ten guy, but he's really, really creative. We come up with a lot of things together, but he deserves a lot of credit."

"He knows me, he knows how my brain works," Fleck continued. "He is exceptional at what he does. I couldn't do my job without him. He makes our program better every single day, and he doesn't get enough credit. Head coaches get a lot of credit when you win, but it has nothing to do with me; it has to do with them... But Gerrit's the absolute best, just couldn't do it without him."

According to the Gophers' website, "Chernoff oversees all off-field aspects of the Minnesota football program."

His place at No. 17 on USA Today's list is interesting because his salary is comparable, if not higher than many GMs are getting paid at some of the top programs in the country. Chernoff is higher paid than general managers at top programs like Clemson, Michigan, and Florida State, according to USA Today.

To be a competitive program in today's college football landscape, you have to financially invest at a high level. Minnesota's place near the top of the list proves, to some extent, that the program knows what it needs to do to remain competitive.