This Is How Much Money Nick Saban Earned During His Sports Career

University of Alabama head coach Nick Saban has announced his retirement after a highly decorated 51-year career. In a retrospective, Forbes revealed exactly how much Saban earned in that time, and it’s more than you might expect.

The outlet estimates that Saban earned an astonishing $150 million throughout his career. He made $124 million during his Alabama tenure alone, according to USA Today. Forbes estimates he earned about $24 million more from other coaching jobs he held with the Miami Dolphins, as well as LSU and Michigan State. Saban’s cume is far greater than other top-earning sports figures such as Tiger Woods ($121 million) and Rafael Nadal ($135 million).

For much of his career, Saban was the highest-paid coach in college football, earning $3.5 million for his first season with Alabama and working up from there. He very briefly relinquished the title to Kirby Smart, who signed a 10-year, $110 million contract extension with the Georgia Bulldogs in 2022.

Saban reclaimed the crown just a few weeks later when he signed an eight-year extension for $93.6 million, which would have paid around $11.7 million each year. That extension should have kept him with Alabama until 2030, but the 72-year-old decided to leave his position a full seven years early. By doing so, he’ll lose around $70 million. Considering the rest of his earnings, though, it’s unlikely Saban is missing any sleep over that loss.

Notably, Forbes only compiled Saban’s earnings from his sports career. He achieved remarkable success as a spokesperson, appearing in a recent Aflac campaign alongside Deion Sanders. He also owns nine car dealerships throughout Alabama, Louisiana, Tennessee, and Texas under his Dream Motor Group. In November, Dream acquired two Mercedes dealerships in Miami estimated to be worth around $700 million.

Saban held seven national championships and 297 wins throughout his career. In a statement announcing his retirement, Saban reiterated how much his experience at Alabama has meant to him and his family—wife Terry, and two adopted children, Nicholas and Kristen.

“The University of Alabama has been a very special place to Terry and me. We have enjoyed every minute of our 17 years being the head coach at Alabama as well as becoming a part of the Tuscaloosa community,” he said.

“It is not just about how many games we won and lost, but it’s about the legacy and how we went about it," Saban continued. "We always tried to do it the right way. The goal was always to help players create more value for their future, be the best player they could be, and be more successful in life because they were part of the program. Hopefully, we have done that, and we will always consider Alabama our home.”