Nearly a month ago, Nick Saban announced his retirement after an incredible 17 seasons with Alabama. The 72-year-old coach achieved domestic dominance with Alabama in these years by winning 201 games for the Crimson Tide. He was the key architect in sustaining the legendary Bear Bryant’s legacy by taking Alabama to 9 conference crowns and 6 National Championships. Simply put, this was a big hole to fill. Rumors were rife around replacement and Texas’s Steve Sarkisian made the most of the chatter.
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Steve Sarkisian has been a stellar signing for Texas. The Longhorns have become a national powerhouse again with the Sarkisian delivering great growth in the three years so far. For starters, the Texans won the Big 12 Championship last year for the first time in 14 years. Moreover, they also made their debut College Football Playoff appearance under him. With the Longhorns moving to the SEC now, much is expected from Texas to keep up their fine run of form.
Under these circumstances, having continuity is key. Hence retaining coach Steve Sarkisian becomes paramount. Steve knew this. He also knew that if his demands were not met, Alabama’s throne would be up for grabs. He joined the dots, presented his demands, and thus managed to sign a monstrous contract extension. The revised terms include a salary increase to $10 million annually – double his previous earnings. He also has access to an on-demand private jet along with a free membership to Austin Country Club. Lastly, he will be getting two cars and a luxury suite for all UT games.
These numbers for a college coach are truly baffling. However, netizens soon pointed out the disparity in spending by the University of Texas, and rightly so. The netizens questioned Texas’ record spending and felt it would have been better to give athletes a fair share of the pie too. They also questioned the debt Texas would find itself in if they fired Steve in the coming years. However, one look at Texas’ revenue sheet, and all these questions will get solved.
The University of Texas Barely Spends On It’s Athletic Budget
Gone are the days when college football struggled to raise money and sustain. College football today is pure money. To put things into perspective, the University of Texas athletic department last year brought in a record operative revenue of $271 million. Out of this, Texas’ team’s winning run contributed a massive 70% of revenue. The rest came from sponsorship, fees, etc.
As impressive as the numbers are, this also paints a difficult picture. The $271 million revenue means that Steve’s contract is barely 5% of the team’s annual budget. To make things favorable, the school is paying nearly 60% of the money to Steve’s incorporation. This means that the head coach now has the provision to write off agent fees with this accounting trick. But what about the athletes?
The $271 million revenue also means that barely 4% of the revenue is being allocated to the athletic budget. With the Head Coach commanding a record revenue, people have now realized the massive money-making opportunity in college football. It will surely be interesting to see how the other stakeholders make the best use of this money for themselves.
