07-27-2022, 11:53 AM
Football head coaches act more or less as CEOs of a $50-150M enterprise. If we compare their compensation to that of a CEO in the corporate world, they are still way overpaid. I found a 2020 survey of mid-market CEO compensation (where mid-market means less than $3B in annual revenue).
The average CEO compensation for companies in the smallest category ($100M-$500M) was $2.6M. That includes bonuses and other direct compensation. Let's call it on average 1% of annual revenue.
If football head coaches were compensated comparably, their total package would be in the $500K-$1.5M range. Successful coaches would get a premium above that, but not the premium we see. And since all 130 BCS schools are chasing the same small number of "successful seasons" each season, many of them pay for the success premium without the coach actually earning it.
Head basketball coach compensation is even more out of line with the size of the program.
https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/2...-BDO-Study
The average CEO compensation for companies in the smallest category ($100M-$500M) was $2.6M. That includes bonuses and other direct compensation. Let's call it on average 1% of annual revenue.
If football head coaches were compensated comparably, their total package would be in the $500K-$1.5M range. Successful coaches would get a premium above that, but not the premium we see. And since all 130 BCS schools are chasing the same small number of "successful seasons" each season, many of them pay for the success premium without the coach actually earning it.
Head basketball coach compensation is even more out of line with the size of the program.
https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/2...-BDO-Study
"We have an unwritten rule around here not to do anything stupid."
-Casey Jacobsen, Feb 3, 2000