Sports
College Football's Most Overpaid Coaches Based on Results
Sep 14, 2024; Gainesville, Florida, USA; Florida Gators athletic director Scott Stricklin (left) and head coach Billy Napier talk before a game against the Texas A&M Aggies at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Pendleton-Imagn Images When the University of Florida made Steve Spurrier the highest-paid coach in college football history—and the game’s first million-dollar man—in 1996, there was an air of scandal surrounding the news.
One million dollars? In college sports? It feels downright quaint when revisited in this era. Top-strength coaches are now joining the seven-figure club.
Referencing USA Today’s database of coaching salaries, most recently updated in October 2024, 92 FBS coaches earn at least $1 million annually. Certainly, inflation from 30 years ago is a factor, but if only all professions’ pay scales swelled at the rate of coaching salaries…
With that in mind, it’s not unfair to evaluate coaching tenures relative to their sizable bank accounts. Using USA Today’s findings, the following quartet stands out for delivering results that fall short of their wages.
A notable omission is Penn State’s James Franklin. Franklin’s 1-10 all-time record against Ohio State is certainly a sore spot among the Nittany Lions fan base, as is the program’s inability to break through to a College Football Playoff appearance.
However, the Nittany Lions have consistently finished seasons ranked in the top 10. With Franklin’s $8.5 million salary ranked as the 13th-most lucrative among coaches, Penn State’s results typically meet or exceed its coach’s paycheck.
Trent Dilfer, UAB
Trent Dilfer source: Getty Images Starting with the 77th-highest paid coach in the sport may seem like an odd choice. But then, UAB hiring Trent Dilfer was an odd choice in itself, and his brief tenure has almost immediately unraveled the remarkable work of his predecessor, Bill Clark.
Clark transformed the regular cellar-dweller program, which had been literally shut down early into his tenure, into a perennial bowl participant. Dilfer took over with four years of high school coaching experience at Tennessee-based Lipscomb Academy, and the Blazers immediately began to struggle.
They went 4-8 last season and are 2-6 through eight games in 2024, with an average margin of defeat of 25.7 points per game. At $1.5 million per year, Dilfer is paid more than in-state counterpart Rich Rodriguez, who has won 14 games in less than two seasons at Jacksonville State.
Dilfer’s UAB team also suffered a humiliating defeat this season at the hands of ULM, coached by Bryant Vincent, a former Clark assistant passed over for the Blazers job. Vincent is paid $900,000 less per year than Dilfer.
Billy Napier, Florida
Oct 28, 2023; Jacksonville, Florida, USA; Florida Gators head coach Billy Napier reacts against the Georgia Bulldogs during the second half at EverBank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement Neitzel-USA TODAY Sports As the first program ever to pay its head coach $1 million, Florida obviously takes its investment in football seriously. Those in Gainesville responsible for making such decisions also demand immediate and consistent ROI. Just ask Jim McElwain and Dan Mullen, both of whom were fired within two years of reaching an SEC Championship Game.
So, with third-year Gators coach Billy Napier sporting an underwhelming 15-18 record in his tenure and headed for a possible third straight sub-.500 finish, it stands to reason that Napier was on the hot seat. His $7.37 million per year contract, ranked No. 21 in college football, is relatively modest compared to the rest of the SEC—and perhaps reflective of the massive buyout money that the program’s impatience has cost it.
Mullen’s buyout came with a $12 million price tag, which Florida is paying through 2027. McElwain’s buyout totaled $7.5 million, the same rate UF initially balked at paying to Colorado State in order to hire him away from Fort Collins.
One massive reason he’s back for 2025: Napier’s buyout is staggering $26.7 million.
Lincoln Riley, Southern California
Lincoln Riley and Miller Moss. source: Getty Images In the roughly 15 years since the end of the Pete Carroll dynasty at USC, Trojans faithful have offered no shortage of explanations as to why the program has not been able to recapture its dominance of the 2000s.
NCAA sanctions in the wake of the Reggie Bush scandal—which wouldn’t even violate today’s rules—were overly punitive. The Pac-12 Conference was holding USC back. The investment in coaching salaries wasn’t competitive with the top of college football.
Well, it’s been a decade since the Bush scandal sanctions lapsed. The Trojans are now members of the Big Ten, and at more than $10 million per year, Lincoln Riley is the fourth-highest paid coach in the sport and tops in the Big Ten.
A promising start in 2022, with USC going 11-1 in the regular season, seemed to justify the hefty contract. Since then, however, USC has posted a combined 12-12 record, with a disappointing finish to 2022, an 8-5 record in 2023 that felt like a retread of the Clay Helton years, and a 2-5 start in 2024. The Trojans have lost to three Big Ten teams with .500 or worse league records (Washington, Michigan, and Maryland).
Mark Stoops, Kentucky
Nov 18, 2023; Columbia, South Carolina, USA; Kentucky Wildcats head coach Mark Stoops directs his team against the South Carolina Gamecocks in the first quarter at Williams-Brice Stadium. credits: Jeff Blake-USA TODAY Sports The inclusion of Stoops, who in 2022 became Kentucky’s all-time wins leader, is tenuous.
Winning with consistency at what is a firmly established basketball school is never easy—just look at the track records of Duke, Kansas, UConn, or Arizona football programs. Look, too, at Stoops’ Kentucky predecessors, most of whom have seen far more success during his tenure.
Bear Bryant and his successor, Blanton Collier, are the only other Wildcats coaches post-World War II to have above-.500 records at UK.
Stoops is also the ninth-highest paid head coach in the sport, making just over $9 million a year. Kentucky has finished ranked in the end-of-season Top 25 just twice during Stoops’ tenure—the most recent time, in 2021, it had its 10 wins vacated.
Measured against the history of Kentucky football, Stoops is an undeniable success. However, measured against his $9 million salary, Stoops is the least accomplished among the sport’s 10 highest-paid coaches.
Sports
A'ja Wilson has no shortage of motivation after Aces' early exit in '24
Oct 1, 2024; Brooklyn, New York, USA; Las Vegas Aces center A’ja Wilson (22) and New York Liberty forward Breanna Stewart (30) during game two of the 2024 WNBA Semi-finals at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images LAS VEGAS — Entering her eighth season in the WNBA, Las Vegas Aces superstar A’ja Wilson is poised to build on what was arguably the most dominant individual campaign in league history.
Wilson joined Cynthia Cooper (1997) as the second player in league history to win a unanimous MVP award and joined an exclusive club as the fourth player to win the award three times. She averaged 26.9 points and 11.9 rebounds per game last season and set the all-time single-season mark for points (1,021) and rebounds (451).
Unfortunately for Las Vegas, injuries and fatigue from their two previous championship runs mounted and resulted in the team’s worst regular-season record (27-13) since 2019. The Aces’ three-peat hopes ended with a 76-62 home loss to the New York Liberty to drop their semifinal series 3-1.
It’s that loss on her home floor that served as Wilson’s motivation this offseason.
“Losing sucks, especially on your home court,” Wilson said “It still kind of burns a little bit, but I’ve used that as fuel to help my teammates understand how hard it is to win in this league. Yes, we can celebrate the two championships. They were great. But for us to move forward, we have to understand how hard this league is and value the basketball and the little things. I think that’s what we lacked last season, so we’re going to make sure that we can show up better than we did.”
While the Aces appeared to be on top of the world heading into their potential three-peat campaign in 2024, the reality inside the locker room was that both the internal and external pressure to win another championship had become suffocating. A common theme across media day was the fact that the team feels less pressure entering the 2025 season, a sentiment Wilson shared as the unquestioned leader of the team.
“(Three-peat talks) obviously impacted us, because it’s like, y’all think we don’t want to win? We’re trying as well,” Wilson said.
“I would definitely say it’s refreshing this year. I feel like this is one of my only years where it feels like there’s no weight. There’s a lot of weight to be defending champs. It’s a lot of weight to be trying to win one. We don’t have that. We actually have a clean slate to really dial into getting back to who we are culturally, like, in our system and everything.”
Leading the Aces back to the top of the mountain for a third time in four years is one of a few historically significant achievements Wilson can collect this upcoming season. Wilson could also become the first four-time MVP in league history, though the meaning of that is something she hasn’t quite allowed herself to ponder yet.
“I haven’t given it much thought, but it would be a blessing to have my name in that conversation,” Wilson said. “Every year, I try to be better than I was the year before just to give myself a chance in this league. Because the league is getting better. We’re growing. At this point, you just want to maintain your stamina. You want to maintain your mental, all of that, because the season gets hard. I can’t think too much about that just yet, but I’m definitely going to try to be better than I was last year.”
As Aces coach Becky Hammon put it, fans can expect to see an even better version of Wilson this season.
“What I see is, she went and got better,” Hammon said. “Which is hard to do when you’re already the best, but it speaks to her work ethic, her desire and her mindset this whole offseason. We talked a lot this offseason. She’s a busy lady, but I can tell you what she always does is her workouts. She’s always getting her workouts in. That comes first and foremost, she never gets her priorities jumbled up.”
When Hammon was asked what a player like Wilson would possibly need to improve after last season’s campaign, the coach did not feel like revealing too much.
“There was (something for Wilson to improve), and she did,” Hammon said. “I’m not going to tell you what it was. Actually, there were two things.”
–Will Despart, Field Level Media
Sports
Jacob Wilson joins Aaron Judge in spotlight for Yankees-A's series
May 5, 2025; West Sacramento, California, USA; Athletics shortstop Jacob Wilson (5) throws to first for an out against the Seattle Mariners during the seventh inning at Sutter Health Park. Mandatory Credit: Dennis Lee-Imagn Images The top two hitters in the majors square off Friday night when the New York Yankees face the Athletics in the opener of a three-game series in Sacramento, Calif.
It’s no surprise to see Yankees star Aaron Judge off to a superb start after winning American League MVP honors last season. He has a major league-best .400 batting average and entered Thursday’s play tied for the big-league lead with 12 homers and 34 RBIs.
But who had Athletics rookie Jacob Wilson ranking second in the majors at .357 as the season nears the quarter pole? Wilson has played in just 64 career games and quickly has solidified himself as a future All-Star, perhaps even this season.
Sharing the marquee board with Judge seems quite surreal for the 23-year-old shortstop who was the No. 6 overall pick of the 2023 draft.
“It’s a great feeling, for sure,” Wilson said of his name being mentioned with Judge. “Obviously, everybody has seen what he is doing. It’s pretty incredible watching him do his thing on a daily basis. To be up there with him is pretty cool for me.
“I’m excited to play against him this week and see what it looks like in person.”
Wilson had his first career four-hit game during Wednesday’s 6-5 home loss against the Seattle Mariners and has six multi-hit outings in the past eight games. He went 8-for-14 with one game-winning hit in the three-game series against the Mariners and is 16-for-34 (.471) with four walks during the eight-game stretch.
The hot hitting led to Athletics manager Mark Kotsay moving Wilson to the leadoff spot on Wednesday. Kotsay indicated Wilson may be sticking at the top of the lineup.
“I think you’ll see Jacob up there now,” Kotsay said. “Jacob’s earned it. … Jacob has shown enough over the last week. He’s walking and taking pitches, and, obviously, swinging the bat really well.”
Judge arrives in Sacramento in the midst of a four-game funk in which he is 2-for-15.
The two-time MVP just went 1-for-10 in a three-game home series against the San Diego Padres, but the one hit was a homer.
Judge grew up 50 miles south of Sacramento in Linden and starred for Linden High but wasn’t highly sought by major league teams. The then-Oakland Athletics selected him in the 31st round in 2010.
Judge instead went the college route and starred for Fresno State. He was chosen in the first round (32nd overall) by the Yankees in the 2013 draft.
Trent Grisham was one of the heroes of Wednesday’s 4-3, 10-inning win over the Padres. He hit a tying two-run pinch-hit homer in the eighth inning.
Grisham had two homers and five RBIs in the series against the Padres — one of his former teams — and already has 10 long balls in just 89 at-bats. He hit just nine last season in 179 at-bats.
“I’m having fun with the guys, I would say that more than anything,” Grisham said. “The clubhouse is really good in here, led by Cap (Judge). So, I would say the guys have been the most enjoyable part.”
New York is starting right-hander Will Warren (1-2, 5.65 ERA) in Friday’s series opener. Right-hander Osvaldo Bido (2-2, 4.71) will be on the mound for the Athletics.
Warren, 25, struck out a career-high eight in 4 2/3 innings while losing to the Tampa Bay Rays on Sunday. He gave up five runs (three earned) and seven hits. Warren hasn’t previously faced the Athletics.
Bido, 29, received a no-decision against the Miami Marlins last Saturday when he gave up four runs on three hits over five innings. He is winless (0-1) over his last three starts. Bido hasn’t faced the Yankees.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Report: Boxing legend Manny Pacquiao coming out of retirement
Aug 21, 2021; Las Vegas, Nevada; Manny Pacquiao (right) fights Yordenis Ugas in a world welterweight championship bout at T-Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images Boxing legend Manny Pacquiao plans to end his retirement and return to the ring on July 19 against Mario Barrios in Las Vegas, ESPN reported Thursday.
Pacquiao, 46, will be fighting for the first time since losing a unanimous decision to Yordenis Ugas in 2021.
The fight will be for Barrios’ WBC welterweight championship belt. Barrios turns 30 on May 18.
Pacquiao is an eight-division champion who is slated to be inducted into the boxing Hall of Fame in June. He reportedly will formally announce his return to boxing next week. The report stated that Pacquiao has been cleared to compete by the Nevada State Athletic Commission.
In recent years, Pacquiao has been focusing on his political career in the Philippines.
The boxer nicknamed “PacMan” has a 62-8-2 record with 39 knockouts during his career. He won his first major title — the WBC flyweight crown — at age 19 in 1998.
Pacquiao was 54-3-2 prior to turning 33 and 8-5 afterward. One of those losses was to Floyd Mayweather Jr. via unanimous decision in 2015, a bout that reportedly drew nearly $400 million in pay-per-view sales.
Barrios (29-2-1, 18 knockouts) fought to a 12-round, split-decision draw against Abel Ramos last November. This will be his third defense since winning the title by beating Ugas in 2023.
–Field Level Media
A'ja Wilson has no shortage of motivation after Aces' early exit in '24
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