Pat Narduzzi, Jeff Capel Highest-Paid Pitt Employees in 2021

Seven of the top 15 highest-paid Pitt employees last year worked in the athletic department.

PITTSBURGH -- According to the disclosure forms, head football coach Pat Narduzzi and head men's basketball coach Jeff Capel were the highest-paid Pitt Panthers employees during the 2021 fiscal year, just as they were the year before.  

Pitt paid Narduzzi $5,391,518 and an additional $253,419 listed under "other compensation from the organization and related organizations." His base salary was $3,973,910 and he received an additional $1,316,667 in bonuses and incentive compensation. The remaining $100,091 was listed under "other reportable compensation." Narduzzi also received $233,600 in retirement and other deferred compensation and $19,819 in nontaxable benefits.   

Narduzzi received a 17% pay increase from the 2020 fiscal year. He's been Pitt's highest earner since 2017, when former men's basketball coach Jamie Dixon - who previously held that title - left the Pitt for TCU, his alma mater.

This past season, in which Narduzzi led the Panthers to an ACC Championship - the first outright conference title in program history - was his best to date. He coached the team to 11 wins, the program's most in a single season since 1981, and a No. 13 finish in the AP top-25, the highest final ranking of a Pitt team since 1982. This March, Narduzzi signed a contract extension that will keep him in Pittsburgh through the 2030 season. 

The same documents say that Capel earned $3,572,820 last year and $41,768 in other compensation. He also received a pay increase, but it was a much more modest, 2.3% increase compared to his 2020 salary. He did not earn any incentive money but was paid 94,367 in other reportable compensation.

It was another arduous season for Capel, whose Panthers once again finished in the cellar of the ACC in 2021-22. Over four seasons and 120 games at Pitt, Capel has won 51 games and for the second consecutive season, will have to recover from devastating roster attrition. 

Athletic Director Heather Lyke earned $788,021 and head women's basketball coach Lance White earned $638,930. Lyke's salary was the third-largest among Pitt employees and White's was the fifth-largest.  

Of the 15 highest-paid Pitt employees listed in the disclosure form, seven were members of the athletic department. Football's defensive coordinator, Randy Bates checked in at 11th with a salary of $555,208.42 and defensive line coach Charlie Partridge was 15th after earning $535,447.96. Former offensive coordinator Mark Whipple, who has since left to take the same job at Nebraska, earned $541,667.10 last year and was the 13th highest-paid Pitt officer. 

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