First-year Alabama Crimson Tide football coach Kalen DeBoer is among the highest paid head coaches in the nation thanks to the athletic department’s generosity.
Along with giving DeBoer an eight-year contract for at least $87 million, the school also extended and raised the salaries of Greg Byrne, the athletic director, and Nate Oats, the basketball coach.
Earning $10 million in his first season, 49-year-old DeBoer took Nick Saban’s spot, the seven-time national champion, after leading Washington to the national championship game in his second season. If Saban hadn’t retired, he would have earned $11 million in 2024.
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On Monday, the UA System Board of Trustees compensation committee formally approved the contracts.
While leading the Washington Huskies to the national championship game in the previous season, DeBoer received a salary of $4.2 million. According to Steve Berkowitz of USA Today, if DeBoer leaves in 2024, he will be required to pay a $5 million penalty. However, this amount will decrease each season until 2027, at which point he will owe the institution nothing.
“A key component of our department’s success has been the high-level investment from high-level coaches,” Byrne said to the trustees. “I firmly believe that with the extra steps we’re taking today, we will continue to demonstrate that.”
Under the terms of his contract, which expires on December 31, 2033, DeBoer will receive a salary of $11.75 million in his last year, plus annual increments of $250,000.
He received prizes of $875,000 for winning the championship and $600,000 for participating in a national championship game. In his last season in Washington, DeBoer earned $4.2 million.
According to his new six-year contract, Oats will make $5 million this year and $7.55 million in his last year, which ends on March 14, 2030.
It wasn’t until Monday that Bryne revealed the specifics of Oats’ new deal, which he had disclosed on Friday night. Four years running, Oats has guided Alabama to the NCAA Tournament, and the Crimson Tide earned their first-ever No. 1 seed this past season.
If Oats departs during the first two years of the contract, there is a sizable buyout clause of $18 million, which Byrne claimed to be the largest in college basketball.
Up until the 2029 season, Oats’ prior contract was worth $4.5 million a year.
In a statement, Oats stated, “We have had great success during our five years at Alabama and we look forward to building on that for many years to come.”
Similar to DeBoer, Alabama offered Byrne an eight-year contract worth little more than $2 million each year. After Byrne assumed the position of athletic director in January 2017, the task of succeeding Saban—who won six titles at Alabama—was placed on her plate.
Stuart Bell, the president of the institution, told the board, “Greg has done an incredible job of leading our athletics program since his arrival, and certainly during this time of great changes in our athletics world.”
Additionally, the trustees authorized raises for two of Oats’ assistants and agreements for DeBoer’s helpers:
Nick Sheridan, the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach, signed a $4.5 million, three-year contract. And from January 23 to January 31, he received $650,000.
Kane Wommack, the defensive coordinator and linebackers coach, has a three-year contract worth $5.1 million.
Jamarcus Shephard, the co-offensive coordinator and assistant head coach, will earn $1.1 million per year for the duration of his two-year contract.
Co-defensive coordinator and defensive back Colin Hitschler will get $1.975 million over the course of two years. That is $625,000 for the period of January 23 to February 29.
Tight end Bryan Ellis will earn $1.1 million in the next two years.
Freddie Roach, the defensive line coach and associate head coach, will earn $1 million in his first year and $1.1 million in his second.
David Ballou, a strength and conditioning coach, has a two-year contract, paying $950,000 annually.
Robert Gillespie, running backs coach and assistant head coach, will get $1.7 million over two years.
Chris Kapilovic, the offensive line coach, and Maurice Linguist, the co-defensive coordinator and DB, will each get $875,000 in their first year and $925,000 in their second.
Christian Robinson, the coach of the outside linebackers, will receive $650,000 a year for the following two years.
Courtney Morgan, general manager of football, has a two-year contract for $500,000.
Rojelio Nunez, the coordinator of special teams, has a two-year contract worth $250,000.
Under a two-year contract, Preston Murphy, a basketball assistant, would earn $450,000 annually. Ryan Pannone, a fellow assistant, has a two-year contract at $360,000.
