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Kirby Smart is now the highest-paid coach in college football | How much he is making

Smart also received a two-year contract extension that runs through the 2033 season.

ATHENS, Ga. — Georgia football head coach Kirby Smart is now the highest-paid head coach in college football, according to 11Alive's insiders at UGASports.

Not only did the University of Georgia give Smart a $1.75 million pay raise, but they also gave the two-time national champion head coach a two-year contract extension that extends his now 10-year deal through 2033. Smart's deal is now 10 years, $130 million.

Smart was the second-highest-paid coach last season at $11.25 million -- only behind former Alabama head coach Nick Saban ($11.7 million) -- and was set to become the highest-paid college football coach in 2024 with Saban's retirement from college football. 

That was until Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney received a 10-year, $115 million contract, which would've made him the highest-paid coach in college football at $11.5 million per year.

However, with the new contract for Smart, he will now make $13 million per year plus up to an additional $1.55 million in incentives based on UGA's success each season.

Credit: AP
Georgia head coach Kirby Smart kisses the championship trophy after the national championship NCAA College Football Playoff game against TCU, Monday, Jan. 9, 2023, in Inglewood, Calif. Georgia won 65-7. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

Since taking over for longtime head coach Mark Richt in Athens in 2016, Smart has compiled a 96-14 record, the most wins of any head coach in college football history in their first eight seasons.

Smart has led UGA to three straight 12-0 seasons, including 27 straight regular season wins against SEC teams. That includes a 46-2 record over the Bulldogs' last 48 games and a school-record 25 consecutive home wins, as noted by 11Alive's UGA insider Anthony Dasher.

Here is how Smart's incentives break down on a year-by-year basis:

  • $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
  • $100,000 if Georgia plays in the Citrus Bowl
  • $175,000 if Georgia plays in a New Year's Six bowl that isn't part of the Playoff that year (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, Smart will not receive the compensation for the other bowl game bonuses that he surpassed.

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