Where Steve Sarkisian Ranks Among Highest Paid CFB Head Coaches

Head coach Steve Sarkisian has led the Texas Longhorns back into national prominence after their several seasons of dysfunction and lackluster results ever since legendary Longhorn head coach Mack Brown stepped down back in 2013.

Since his hiring, Sarkisian has rebuilt the Longhorns back into one of the premier teams in all of college football. In his five seasons at the helm, the Longhorns have amassed a 48-20 record and have been in the mix competing for a national championship, making the College Football Playoff two out of the last three seasons.

Ever since his arrival in Austin and after ironing out a few kinks in the early seasons of his tenure, Sarkisian has the Burnt Orange and White running like a well-oiled machine at levels that the Longhorns had not been before he arrived on the Forty Acres. With the job that Sarkisian has done, how much he's paid is an interesting number, which may surprise a few Longhorn fans.

Steve Sarkisian Spot Among the Highest Paid Head Coaches in CFB is Interesting

Texas Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian leads his team on to the field before a game against the Vanderbilt Commodores. | Scott Wachter-Imagn Images

In recent days, national championship winning head coach Curt Cignetti received a raise with the Indiana Hoosiers, getting a new deal which was agreed to on Friday, per ESPN, with Cignetti getting a raise to $13.2 million on a contract running through 2033 to stay in Bloomington.

The new deal is an increase of $1.6 million per year from an extension he signed in October, now making Cignetti the highest-paid head coach in college football, surpassing Georgia Bulldogs head coach Kirby Smart.

And with the recent changes at the top of the head coaching pay structure, Sarkisian has begun to slide down the list of highest-paid head coaches in the country, rounding out the Top 10, making $10.8 million a year, tied with Colorado Buffaloes head coach Deion Sanders.

Ahead of Sarkisian are some of the other top names in college football. Leading the pack is Cignetti, followed by Smart, who is tied for second with new LSU head coach Lane Kiffin, and rounding out the top three is Ohio State head man Ryan Day.

Right behind those guys is Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney, who makes $11.5 million a year, followed by a three-way tie with Oregon's Dan Lanning, USC's Lincoln Riley, and Texas A&M's Mike Elko, who also received an extension at $11 million per year.

Back in February of 2025, Sarkisian agreed upon an extension that would keep him in Austin through the 2031 season, which raises his salary from $10.4 million to $10.8 million per ESPN. And annual raises will push his salary to $12.3 million by the final year, putting him within the range of being one of the Top five highest-paid head coaches in college football.

And with the job that Sarkisian has done throughout the years and the stockpile of talent his roster has headed into the 2026 season, the Longhorns' head man is soon to be competing once again and could potentially earn something a lot sweeter with the top prize in all of college football.