ATLANTA — Georgia head football coach Kirby Smart is no stranger to incentive bonuses when it comes to his football team's excellent play over the past few seasons.
Smart has already racked up numerous bonuses from winning several SEC Championships, two national championships and multiple College Football Playoff semifinal games.
If Kirby and the Dawgs beat Texas on Saturday, the head ball coach is set to earn a generous $300,000 bonus.
But he'll still get rewarded just for his team being in the game, and he also has an opportunity for more incentive bonuses later this season.
You can see that breakdown below:
How Kirby Smart's bonus structure works
- Smart is eligible for two separate payments, one based on SEC achievements and the other one based on general postseason achievements.
- His bonus payout is capped at $1.3 million based on those two potential payments.
- He would get either $100,000 in a given year for reaching the SEC Championship Game or $300,000 for winning it (his contract is structured with either/or bonuses in this case - so he would get $100,000 for reaching the game and then an additional $200,000 for winning it, not $400,000. (If Georgia wins the SEC Championship, that $300,000 would be money in Smart's pocket).
After that, here's the specific breakdown for postseason achievements:
- $50,000 if Georgia goes to the Birmingham or Independence Bowl
- $75,000 if Georgia plays in one of six other bowls: Gator, ReliaQuest (formerly Outback), Duke's Mayo (formerly Belk), Music City, Texas or Liberty Bowl
- $100,000 if Georgia plays in the Citrus Bowl
- $175,000 if Georgia plays in any College Football Playoff New Year's Six bowl (Sugar, Rose, Orange, Cotton, Fiesta, Peach)
- $500,000 for playing in one of those bowls for the College Football Playoff semifinal
- $750,000 for winning the semifinal and going to the National Championship Game
- $1 million for winning the National Championship Game
Again, these are not cumulative. If Georgia reaches a New Year's Six bowl in the playoff, Smart will not receive the compensation for the other bowl game bonuses that he surpassed.
Here's a look at the contract provision itself:
Smart is already making $13.28 million annually. His compensation includes a base salary and a maximum bonus of $1.77 million. The University of Georgia, which extended Smart’s contract through 2033 earlier this year, also values the coach at $118 million in buyout clauses should the university part ways with him before the contract ends.
After a pay raise and contract extension in May 2024, Smart’s deal increased to $130 million over ten years. This latest boost places him well ahead of his peers, with Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney’s total pay coming in second at $11.13 million and Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian earning $10.6 million. Smart’s leadership of the Bulldogs to two national titles in recent years likely contributed to his substantial raise.
