Nick Saban is a college football coaching legend, there's no doubt about that. But maybe not as much as he is an advisory legend.
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At least, based on the pay scale, that seems to be the case.
As related by Will Backus of CBS Sports, Saban is set to earn more as an advisor to the Alabama football program than he did coaching it. Good work if you can get it. According to Backus, "Saban will earn $500,000 a year in his new advisory role with the university, according to documents obtained by multiple media outlets. That figure is actually higher than the $305,000 base salary he earned in 2023, his final year leading the Crimson Tide."
But a base salary doesn't really tell the whole story.
"Saban's previous contract was laced with bonuses and other structured payments that moved his actual salary well into the eight-figure range," Backus wrote.
His deal as an advisor likely doesn't have those incentives. But maybe it does, too. Either way, he'll be a highly-paid individual who has made his name (and lots of money) via the game.
"Saban signed a new contract with Alabama in 2022 worth a reported value of $93.6 million over eight years, including that $305,000 base salary,' Backus wrote. "It also featured a talent fee worth north of $9 million annually. All told, Saban was the highest-paid coach in college football at the time."
Now, Saban will give advice to new coach Joe Cox, a former Georgia quarterback who is leading the rival program. Cox is the former tight ends coach with the Crimson Tide, so he likely has received plenty of advice from Saban already.
But hey, Saban will keep doing it, as long as you pay him. Or something like that.
