Report: College football coaches' astronomical bonuses

Guess which coach in all of college football got the biggest bonus last year?

It was Gary Pinkel.

According to USA Today Sports’ first comprehensive analysis of the incentives actually paid to public-school coaches over the course of a year, Pinkel’s basic compensation at Mizzou was $3.4 million, and when the Tigers advanced to their second consecutive Southeastern Conference title game, it set the stage for a contract extension that included raises to more than $3.75 million for this season and more than $4.1 million for 2016.

Pinkel then received seven bonuses totaling $900,000. It was the greatest bonus haul for a football head coach in the NCAA’s Bowl Subdivision last season.

Of the 128 coaches tracked by the newspaper, 75 of them received 214 total bonuses for nearly $12.4 million. The average base pay for all coaches is more than $2 million.

Who is the highest paid coach in all of college football? The Crimson Tide brought University of Alabama coach Nick Saban just over $7 million last year.

Pinkel ranked 20th overall.

Click here for the pay database.

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