Hoosiers Now

USA Today Coaches Salaries: Indiana's Tom Allen Lowest-Paid Coach in Big Ten

Even Rutgers coach Chris Ash, who's already been fired, makes more money than the Hoosiers' coach, who's in his third full season in Bloomington.

Tom Brew

USA Today Coaches Salaries: Indiana's Tom Allen Lowest-Paid Coach in Big Ten
USA Today Coaches Salaries: Indiana's Tom Allen Lowest-Paid Coach in Big Ten /

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — USA Today released its annual pay survey Tuesday and the salaries of every major college football coaches are ranked. Indiana's Tom Allen ranks 14th — dead last — in salary and bonuses, even behind Rutgers coach Chris Ash, who's already been fired.

Allen, who was hired in December 2016 after one season as Indiana's defensive coordinator, is the only Big Ten coach under $2.3 million. Michigan's Jim Harbaugh is tops at 7.5 million and Purdue's Jeff Brohm is second at $6.6 million

Here's the complete list of Big Ten salaries:

BIG TEN COACHES SALARIES

  1. Jim Harbaugh, Michigan  ...........  $7.504,000
  2. Jeff Brohm, Purdue  ....................  $6,600,000
  3. James Franklin, Penn State  .......  $5,650,000
  4. Pat Fitzgerald, Northwestern .....  $5,144,937
  5. Scott Frost, Nebraska  .................  $5,000,000
  6. Kirk Ferentz, Iowa  ......................   $4,800,000
  7. Ryan Day, Ohio State  .................. $4,500.000
  8. Mark Dantonio, Michigan State .. $4,399,437
  9. Paul Chryst, Wisconsin  ..............  $4,150,000
  10. Lovie Smith, Illinois  ..................    $4,000.000
  11. P.J. Fleck, Minnesota  ................   $3,600,000
  12. Mike Locksley, Maryland ............  $2,500,000
  13. Chris Ash, Rutgers  ...................     $2,300,000
  14. Tom Allen, Indiana   .................... $1,805,000

Here is the link to the entire salary chart  on USA TODAY.

Dabo Swinney, coach of the defending national champion Clemson Tigers, tops the country with a salary of $9,315,600.

Allen took over after head coach Kevin Wilson was fired and was the head coach for the Hoosiers' bowl game in 2016. He signed a six-year deal through 2022 then, with bonuses for winning at least six games per season and reaching a bowl game. He gets $100,000 for every win from six or more. 

He went 5-7 in 2017 and 2018, but he has the Hoosiers off to a 5-2 record so far this season and has had the two best recruiting classes in history the past two years.

His $1,805,000 total this year includes a $125,000 bonus for Indiana's APR score being 950 or better. It was 967 last year.

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Tom Brew
TOM BREW

Tom Brew is an award-winning journalist who has worked at some of America's finest newspapers as a reporter and editor, including the Tampa Bay (Fla.) Times, the Indianapolis Star and the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. He has covered college sports in the digital platform for the past six years, including the last five years as publisher of HoosiersNow on the FanNation/Sports Illustrated network.

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