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Georgia Football: How much will Kirby Smart make?

By Alistair Penny

ATLANTA, GA - JANUARY 07: University of Georgia head coach Kirby Smart talks during the College Football Playoff National Championship Coaches Press Conference on January 7, 2018 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Mike Zarrilli/Getty Images)
ATLANTA, GA - JANUARY 07: University of Georgia head coach Kirby Smart talks during the College Football Playoff National Championship Coaches Press Conference on January 7, 2018 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Mike Zarrilli/Getty Images) /
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Georgia Football has given big raises to its assistant coaches, now it’s time for the top dawg to get his. So how much will it be?

Like a lot of fans, I’m happy that Kirby Smart took care of his coaches this offseason. The Georgia Football head coach made sure that all of his coaching staff received pay raises after a great year. The ones who performed particularly well got big bumps. For example, Dell McGee became the latest assistant to break the $500k a year mark.

Now it’s time for Smart to get paid himself. With all the new hires, the coach of the reigning SEC Champion is currently just the 6th highest paid coach in the conference. His successor at Bama and new Vols head coach Jeremy Pruitt is currently making more money than him and he’s never even coached a game. In short, It’s time for Kirby to go up in the pay rankings.

So how much can we expect Kirby Smart to make? Right now, he’s making $3.7 million a year before bonuses. Nick Saban remains the top paid coach in college football at more than $11 million a year. Smart won’t come close to that figure. But if Dan Mullen can make $6 million a year at Florida and Gus Malzahn $7 million at Auburn, he’s severely underpaid right now.

Jimbo Fisher is the second highest paid coach in the SEC with his new 10-year $75 million contract at Texas A&M. Can Smart push past him after just two years as the top guy? I’m not sure we’ll see that, but I do think he’s going to blow past Mullen. Smart remains a young coach and UGA is still building its program. But fans should expect to see him in the $7 mil a year territory when the contract gets done.

Next: Will Jonas Hayes stay on?

One thing Dawg fans should feel comfortable about is that the administration and football boosters are going to pay Smart his worth. They fired a successful and liked coach just to bring him in back in 2015. They’re fundraising and spending like crazy to get the facilities he demands for the program. UGA isn’t penny-pinching anymore. Expect that new contract to have some eye-popping numbers. And before you ask, yes, he deserves it.

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