USC Trojans' Lincoln Riley Among Highest Coaching Buyouts With Georgia's Kirby Smart

USC Trojans coach Lincoln Riley will be entering the 4th year of his ten-year contract this upcoming season. Where does Riley's contract buyout rank among other coaches in college football? Georgia's Kirby Smart and Alabama's Kalen DeBoer round out the top-3.
Dec 27, 2024; Las Vegas, NV, USA; Southern California Trojans head coach Lincoln Riley reacts against the Texas A&M Aggies in the second half at Allegiant Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images
Dec 27, 2024; Las Vegas, NV, USA; Southern California Trojans head coach Lincoln Riley reacts against the Texas A&M Aggies in the second half at Allegiant Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images / Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

USC Trojans coach Lincoln Riley signed a 10-year, $110 million contract with USC prior to the 2022 season. Riley was previously the coach for the Oklahoma Sooners from 2017-2021 before accepting the job with the Trojans. 

Riley is among the highest paid coaches in college football with the biggest coaching buyouts. What other coaches are in the top ten of biggest buyouts heading into the 2025 season?

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Lincoln Riley With 2nd Highest Coach Buyout in All Of College Football

Dec 27, 2024; Las Vegas, NV, USA; Southern California Trojans head coach Lincoln Riley reacts after the game against the Texa
Dec 27, 2024; Las Vegas, NV, USA; Southern California Trojans head coach Lincoln Riley reacts after the game against the Texas A&M Aggies at Allegiant Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images / Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Lincoln Riley and the USC Trojans have had a rough past two seasons. Following Riley’s first season where they went 11-3, the Trojans went 8-5 in 2023 and 7-6 in 2024. Trojans fans have not seen their team in championship contention for quite some time, and now they are paying their coach top of the market money. Riley’s buyout is the second highest in college football at $90 million.

The coach with the highest buyout is Georgia Bulldogs coach Kirby Smart. Smart's estimated buyout is $118 million per 247Sports. His current contract goes through the 2033 season. By no means is Smart in hot water with Georgia fans right now, as they are still coming off a fairly recent run of back-to-back National Championships in 2021 and 2022.

Other coaches with the highest priced buyouts are Alabama Crimson Tide coach Kalen DeBoer, Texas Longhorns coach Steve Sarkisian, Florida State Seminoles coach Mike Norvell, and LSU Tigers coach Brian Kelly.

The Big Ten coach with the closest buyout number to Riley's is Penn State Nittany Lions coach James Franklin. His buyout is currently at $56 million.

Here is the list of the top ten biggest coaching buyouts heading into 2025 per 247Sports.

1. Kirby Smart, Georgia Bulldogs: $118 million

2. Lincoln Riley, USC Trojans: $90 million

3. Kalen DeBoer, Alabama Crimson Tide: $70 million

4. Steve Sarkisian, Texas Longhorns: $64 million

5. Mike Norvell, Florida State Seminoles: $63 million

6. Brian Kelly, LSU Tigers: $62 million

7. Mario Cristobal, Miami Hurricanes: $61 million

8. Dabo Swinney, Clemson Tigers: $60 million

9. James Franklin, Penn State Nittany Lions: $56 million

10. Matt Rhule, Nebraska Cornhuskers: $55 million

USC Looking Ahead to 2025

Dec 27, 2024; Las Vegas, NV, USA; Southern California Trojans wide receiver Makai Lemon (6) carries the ball against Texas A&
Dec 27, 2024; Las Vegas, NV, USA; Southern California Trojans wide receiver Makai Lemon (6) carries the ball against Texas A&M Aggies linebacker Daymion Sanford (27) in the second half at Allegiant Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images / Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

2025 will be a big year for Lincoln Riley and the USC Trojans. After two straight disappointing seasons, USC must bounce back in a big way.

The offseason was not too kind to the Trojans as they lost a handful of their key contributors in 2024 to the transfer portal. Overall, USC lost 21 players to the transfer portal. All signs are pointing towards the Trojans giving quarterback Jayden Maiava the keys to the offense in 2025.

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Cory Pappas
CORY PAPPAS

Cory Pappas is sports writer for USC Trojans On SI and Oregon Ducks On SI. Since starting in March of 2024, he has been writing breaking news stories, game previews, game recaps, and more across College Sports, the NFL, MLB, NBA, and Olympics for Total Apex Sports. In addition to writing, Cory is also a sports data scout for Sportradar. He covers live sporting events ranging from college athletics to semi-pro and professional. Before joining the industry, Cory graduated from the University of Oregon in 2022. He ran track for Oregon's club Track and Field team. Before Oregon, he played varsity basketball and track and field in high school in Walnut Creek, CA. Cory is using his lifelong passion for sports and writing together.