Georgia football: Kirby Smart receives raise and extension

The University of Georgia rewarded Georgia football coach Kirby Smart with a $3.25 million raise and a three-year extension for his 2017 SEC Championship season.

Don’t worry Georgia football fans, the university isn’t taking any chances with Kirby Smart’s contract. The school announced today that they are giving Smart a $3.25 million raise and a three-year extension.

With this new contract, Smart goes from the eighth highest paid coach in the SEC to a tie for third. Nick Saban is still the highest paid coach with $11 million a year, Jimbo Fisher of Texas A&M is second with $7.5 million. Smart and Auburn’s Gus Malzahn are tied for third with $7 million each. Smart also moves from 23rd to fifth nationally. The extension brings Smart’s contract to seven years.

Both the extension and the raise are well deserved. Smart has signed three top-six recruiting classes including this year’s no. 1 class. He also led the Dawgs to their first SEC Championship since 2015 and first National Championship Game since the 1983 Sugar Bowl.

Smart received a $1.35 million bonus after this past season for winning the SEC and appearing in the National Championship Game. He could have gotten paid $250,000 more if Georgia had beaten Alabama.

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The rest of the coaching staff received raises earlier this year. The staff as a whole makes $1.86 million more than last season for a total of 6.42 million. Defensive coordinator Mel Tucker and co-offensive coordinator James Coley received a combined $1 million raise.

More money means more pressure, but Smart likely already feels more pressure. Now that he’s won a SEC Championship and a playoff game, the expectations is to keep playing in and winning those games for at least the rest of his contract.