Alabama made a big splash hire when it chose to replace Nick Saban with Kalen DeBoer. The Crimson Tide needed to ensure that the program will not see a dip after the greatest college football coach of all-time chose to retire and tapped the reigning national championship runner-up as his successor.
Although the transition of power came with a slight discount, “slight” is the key word there.
We do not yet know the official details of DeBoer’s contract at Alabama. His hire has yet to receive formal approval by the board of trustees. Technically, the deal could still fall through. It won’t, but it could.
In the meantime, DeBoer is getting paid according to the agreed upon terms that have yet to be approved.
Kalen DeBoer is a rich man!
According to the school’s final records, as first reported by Michael Casagrande, the school paid its new head football coach $834,978 in February. That number, multiplied by 12 months, marks an annual salary of $10,019,736.
Should this monthly payment number remain consistent throughout the year, DeBoer is the fifth-highest paid coach in the country alongside Lincoln Riley and Mike Norvell at $10 million per year. He is getting paid slightly more than Brian Kelly, Lane Kiffin, Eli Drinkwitz and Josh Heupel, and less than only Ryan Day, Steve Sarkisian, Kirby Smart and Dabo Swinney.
It is quite the jump from where the 49-year-old was a year ago!
Kalen DeBoer was paid $4.2 million at Washington last season. However, the Huskies reportedly offered him a raise worth $9.4 million before leaving for the SEC. The Crimson Tide seemingly presented a greater financial package to take perhaps the highest-pressure job in college athletics.
No further details are public at this time. Should DeBoer’s tenure not go well, the number that Alabama would need to pay to buy him out is not yet released. That will become known after the trustees formerly approve the contract in the coming weeks.
With how much he is getting paid, the pressure is very high for DeBoer to find success right away. There is no room for a lull.