Bigger In Texas: Sarkisian Contract Approved

The University of Texas Board of Regents has officially approved a massive deal for new head football coach Steve Sarkisian, securing him to a six-year contract.

Matt Galatzan | Feb 25, 2021

The University of Texas is sparing no expense when it comes to securing the future of its football program, including with its new head coach, Steve Sarkisian.

On Wednesday the University of Texas board of regents met and approved a deal for Sarkisian that will pay him a total of $34.2 million over six years, along with incentives that could increase that number over time.

The deal in total also exceeds the numbers given to former head coaches Charlie Strong and Tom Herman upon their hirings at the University in both length and compensation.

The terms of the deal make Sarkisian one of the 20 highest-paid college coaches in America and will earn him $5.2 million in 2021, $5.4 million in 2022, $5.6 million in 2023, $5.8 million in 2024, $6 million in 2025, and $6.2 million in the deal' final year in 2026.

Among the guaranteed perks in the new deal, Sarkisian will be given two dealer cars, a club membership, private airplane use, a $250,000 relocation and temporary housing allowance, and access to tickets and a private suite on gamedays.

Sarkisian will also earn a special one-time payment of $1.2 million on December 31, 2024, upon continued employment.

In the event Sarkisian earns a National Coach of the Year award, he can earn up to $100,000 annually, as well as $50,000 annually for winning the Big 12 Coach of the Year award. There is also a maximum of $675,000 allotted annually for team performance bonuses.

Sarkisian is not the only coach on the staff set to earn a massive payday, however, with Texas also planning to pay three assistants at least $1 million or more next season, including Jeff Banks, who is set to become the first special teams coach in college football to earn a seven-figure salary with a three-year $1 million deal.

Defensive coordinator Pete Kwiatkowski, who came to the Longhorns from Washington, has agreed to a three-year deal making $1.7 million per year.

Meanwhile, offensive coordinator Kyle Flood, who followed Sarkisian from Alabama, also agreed to a three-year deal, where he will earn $1.1 million in 2021, $1.175 million in 2022, and $1.25 million in 2023.

The majority of the Longhorns positions coaches are also set to have their deals approved next week, and are listed below:

RB Coach Stan Drayton - 2021: $650,000 2022: $650,000

WR Coach Andre Coleman - 2021: $450,000 2022: $500,000

DL Coach Bo Davis - 2021: $875,000 2022: $900,000 2023: $925,000

Secondary Coach Terry Joeseph - 2021: $750,000 2022: $800,000

S Coach Blake Gideon - 2021: $400,000 2022: $425,000

LB Coach Jeff Choate - 2021: $500,000 2022: $575,000

Strength Coach Torre Becton - 2021: $500,000 2022: $525,000

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Published Feb 25, 2021

MATT GALATZAN

Matt Galatzan is the Managing Editor and Publisher of Texas Longhorns On SI and Texas A&M Aggies On SI and a long-time member of the Football Writer’s Association of America. He graduated from the University of Mississippi, where he studied integrated marketing communications, with minors in journalism and business administration. Galatzan started in the sports journalism industry in 2014 covering the Dallas Mavericks and SMU Mustangs with 247Sports. He then moved to Sports Illustrated's Fan Nation network in 2020, eventually being taking over as the Managing Editor and Publisher of the Longhorns and Aggies sites a year later. You can find Galatzan on all major social media channels, including Twitter on @MattGalatzan.