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Steve Sarkisian is set to battle three of 2026's highest paid head coaches

Joe Cookby: Joe Cook05/09/26josephcook89

Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian received a contract extension after the 2024 season that is scheduled to keep him in Austin through the 2031 campaign. His salary, which was in the $5 million range when he first arrived to Texas, has more than doubled in light of back-to-back College Football Playoff semifinal appearances in 2023 and 2024.

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Sarkisian will make $11.05 million in 2026 according to reporting from On3’s Wilson Alexander. That number is before any incentives are included. He made $10.8 million before incentives in 2025. According to previous Inside Texas reporting, Sarkisian will make $11.3 million in 2027, $11.55 million in 2028, $11.8 million in 2029, $12.05 million in 2030, and $12.3 million in 2031.

That’s a hefty number, one that makes Sarkisian the state of Texas’ highest paid public employee. But he won’t be the highest paid coach in the country this year, nor the most well-compensated coach on the Texas Longhorns’ 2026 schedule.

Alexander reported on the ten highest paid head coaches in college football in 2026 using sourced data and public records request. The top 10 includes three coaches on Texas’ schedule.

1. Curt Cignetti, Indiana — $13.02M
T-2. Kirby Smart, Georgia — $13M
T-3. Lane Kiffin, LSU — $13M
T-4. Ryan Day, Ohio State — $12.5M
T-4. Kalen DeBoer, Alabama — $12.5M
T-6. Lincoln Riley, USC — $11.5M
T-6. Dabo Swinney, Clemson — $11.5M
8. Steve Sarkisian, Texas — $11.05M
9. Mike Elko, Texas A&M — $10.75M
10. Dan Lanning, Oregon — $10.6M

Before leaving Ole Miss for LSU, Kiffin was just outside the $10 million club. He was due to make $9 million with the Rebels before incentives in 2025. Kiffin’s contract with LSU is for seven years. Texas will battle LSU in Baton Rouge on November 14.

Day, who was the second highest paid head coach in 2025 behind Smart, signed a three-year extension after the Buckeyes won the 2024 national title. The Longhorns host Ohio State on September 12.

Elko signed a six-year, $69 million extension in November of 2025 in the middle of his second season at Texas A&M. According to Football Scoop, Elko’s salary with bump up by $300,000 every year and he will earn an automatic one-year extension every time his A&M program wins nine regular season games or reaches the College Football Playoff. Texas returns to College Station on November 27.

As head coach of the Longhorns, Sarkisian is 48-20 with a 3-3 record in postseason games. He is 0-3 versus Smart, 0-2 versus Day, 0-2 versus DeBoer, 0-1 versus Riley, 1-0 versus Swinney, and 2-0 versus Elko during his tenure in burnt orange.

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