Stanford football coach David Shaw credited with more than $8.9 million in pay for 2019

Stanford football coach David Shaw was credited with a little more than $8.9 million in total compensation for the 2019 calendar year, the university’s new federal tax return shows.

The amount includes $412,500 that had been reported as deferred pay on prior years’ returns, meaning Shaw’s net compensation for the year was a little more than $8.5 million.

Several hours after providing the document Wednesday in response to a request from USA TODAY Sports, university spokesman E.J. Miranda said in an email: "Coach Shaw’s compensation, as reflected in the 990 form, includes over $2 (million) in retroactive salary and signing bonus, which are unique to this year. He also received an increase in base salary."

Shaw received nearly $6.8 million in what Stanford classified on the return as base compensation and $1.425 million in bonus and incentive pay. Both of those amounts are more than double what was reported for Shaw in 2018, when he was credited with a total of just over $4.8 million.

Even taking into account the one-time aspects of Shaw's net pay for 2019, the total places him among the highest-paid people in higher education and it comes against the backdrop of the recent, months-long saga of Stanford planning to drop sports for financial reasons, then reversing that decision late this spring.

The $8.9 million single-year total for 2019 is the third-highest for a then-active private-school coach since USA TODAY Sports began tracking coaches’ pay in 2006. Duke men’s basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski was credited with just under $9.7 million in total compensation for the 2011 calendar year, including $775,000 that had been reported on prior years’ returns. Krzyzewski also has the second-highest single-year total.

Alabama’s Nick Saban had the largest single year of basic compensation from a school in his 2017-18 contract year, when he was paid just over $11.1 million, including a $4 million one-time signing bonus. Saban is scheduled to make $9.5 million from the school in his 2021-22 contract year.

As a private school, Stanford is not required to make its employment contracts public. The new document provides no details about the period over which Shaw accrued the previously reported deferred compensation and in what amounts.

COACHES' COMPENSATION: 2020 NCAA football coaches' salaries

Concerning his bonuses, the return says: "Listed athletics professionals are eligible to receive bonuses and incentive compensation based on factors including the academic performance of the student-athletes, athletic performance, attendance at athletic events, and/or leadership, as provided in the professionals' compensation agreements."

The new figures for Shaw represent his pay for a year that ended roughly six months before Stanford announced in early July 2020 that it was planning to cut 11 of its 36 varsity sports, citing the financial sustainability of such a wide-ranging program that has national-championship aspirations.

When the school made that announcement, it issued a frequently asked questions statement that cited the financial downturn caused by the pandemic and said, in part: "University leaders, the Department of Athletics and the Board of Trustees have engaged in deliberative and detailed discussions for several years about how athletics could remain financially sustainable while also supporting a nationally competitive athletics experience across its 36 varsity sports."

The university reversed direction in mid-May under pressure from numerous constituent groups, including alumni who undertook a fundraising campaign aimed at preserving the teams. Stanford also was facing two lawsuits, although it said in a statement announcing the cuts’ reversal that discussions with the fundraising alumni “were already far along” and the decision to keep the teams was “independent of their filing.”

Even with those alumni efforts, the statement said “retaining all 36 teams will require a large-scale fundraising campaign for Stanford Athletics.”

Stanford’s football head coaching position, three football assistant coaching positions and many of its scholarships are at least partially endowed. Shaw’s formal title at Stanford is Bradford M. Freeman Director of Football.

Shaw has compiled a 90-36 record in 10 seasons as Stanford’s head coach, making him the winningest coach in the program’s history. The Cardinal have won three Pac-12 championships under his leadership, the most recent in 2015.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Stanford coach David Shaw credited with over $8.9 million in 2019 pay