Report: Mack Brown's salary fifth in ACC; Carolina's rank moves up nationally

Clemson's Dabo Swinney is college football's highest-paid coach

Jeremy Brevard | USA TODAY Sports

North Carolina made a big investment in Mack Brown.

According to college football coaches' salary data compiled in USA TODAY's annual database, Brown's $3.5 million salary ranks fifth among ACC coaches and 39th nationally.

The ranks mark improvements for Carolina, which with Larry Fedora's $2.7 million salary, ranked 10th in the ACC and 50th nationally.

Access the full USA TODAY database here.

Clemson's Dabo Swinney takes over the top spot nationally at $9,315,600 after receiving a raise following the Tigers' second national title in January.

Second in the ACC is Willie Taggart, who comes in at 15th nationally at $5 million this season. 

Two coaches from the Commonwealth are ahead of Brown, with Virginia Tech's Justin Fuente ($4 million) and Virginia's Bronco Mendenhall ($3.7 million). 

First-year Louisville coach Scott Satterfield is making $3,213,953  after leaving Appalachian State, while N.C. State's Dave Doeren is seventh in the ACC at $3.25 million.

Duke's David Cutcliffe ranks 10th in the ACC at $2,669,345.

Nationally, Alabama's Nick Saban ($8,857,000) falls behind Swinney, followed by Michigan's Jim Harbaugh ($7,504,000), Texas A&M's Jimbo Fisher ($7.5 million) and Georgia's Kirby Smart ($6,871,600) rounding out the top five.

In all, the ACC coaches's salaries rank fourth among Power Five schools at an average of $3,687,631. The SEC — with five coaches over the $6 million mark — leads all conference at an average of $4,978,860.

The Big Ten is second at $4,425,241, followed by the PAC-12 at $4,181,227.

The Big 12 is fifth with an average salary of $3,153,714.