Ed Orgeron's 2020 salary of nearly $9M puts him in the Nick Saban and Dabo Swinney stratosphere
Ed Orgeron’s new contract includes a lot of money in the first year.
The LSU coach was given a six-year, $42 million contract extension the week after LSU took down Clemson in the College Football Playoff National Championship Game. Friday, we found out just how much money Orgeron will make in the first year of that deal. And it’s a lot.
Per the Advocate, Orgeron will make nearly $9 million in 2020 when his base salary and a portion of a life insurance policy is applied.
Orgeron's new contract began on Jan. 14 and expires Dec. 31, 2025.
It has an annual salary of $6 million and includes a $5 million split-dollar life insurance policy in the first two years of the deal. In total, the contract is worth $41 million before bonuses.
According to USA Today, Orgeron’s $8.7 million salary for 2020 could put him behind only Nick Saban among college football coaches.
LSU coach Ed Orgeron will have basic pay of just under $8.7 million for 2020 season, per term sheet from school and first by @BKubena.
This likely will make Orgeron the nation's 2nd-highest-paid public-school FB head coach, behind Nick Saban, who is set to make $9.1 million.— Steve Berkowitz (@ByBerkowitz) February 7, 2020
Only Saban and Clemson’s Dabo Swinney made more than $8 million in 2019. Swinney’s total 2019 salary was over $9 million because of the provisions in the mega-contract that he signed following the Tigers’ national title win over the Crimson Tide in January of 2019.
Swinney’s 10-year, $93 million contract gradually increases his salary over the life of the deal. His base pay in the first two years is over $8 million.
Before signing his extension, Orgeron was one of the lowest-paid head coaches in the SEC. He made $4 million in 2019, the same salary as fired Arkansas coach Chad Morris and $1 million less than fired South Florida coach Charlie Strong.
It’s not uncommon for coaches to see big first-year compensation numbers thanks to life insurance policies. Michigan’s Jim Harbaugh vaulted ahead of Saban as college football’s highest-paid head coach for the 2016 season because of a life insurance provision in his contract.
Unlike Harbaugh, Orgeron can at least point to being a national champion to justify his 2020 compensation.
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Nick Bromberg is a writer for Yahoo Sports.
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