PJ Fleck slated to be the 10th highest paid coach in the Big Ten

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per Wallace:
  1. Jim Harbaugh, Michigan: $8,036,179
  2. James Franklin, Penn State: $6,700,000* (scheduled pay)
  3. Ryan Day, Ohio State: $5,651,694
  4. Pat Fitzgerald, Northwestern: $5,218,658
  5. Mel Tucker, Michigan State: $5,057,250
  6. Tom Allen, Indiana: $4,900,000
  7. Scott Frost, Nebraska: $4,833,333
  8. Jeff Brohm, Purdue: $4,800,000* (scheduled pay)
  9. Kirk Ferentz, Iowa: $4,670,750
  10. P.J. Fleck, Minnesota: $4,281,680
  11. Bret Bielema, Illinois: $4,200,000
  12. Paul Chryst, Wisconsin: $3,983,750
  13. Greg Schiano, Rutgers: $3,763,336
  14. Mike Locksley, Maryland: $2,474,750
www.si.com

Tom Allen's New Deal Makes Him Sixth-Highest Paid Big Ten Football Coach

After Tom Allen got a raise Monday, we take a look at the highest paid football coaches in the Big Ten.
www.si.com www.si.com

Go Gophers!!
 

I don't understand how they can Harbaugh $8 mil.
 


I think this is less a statement about the Gophers not paying PJ Fleck and more one about the ridiculous largesse in Big Ten football, even in a pandemic that locked every gate in the conference. Also,

B1G-Network_DOT-COM_Header_v1.jpg
 

nitramnaed said:
I don't understand how they can Harbaugh $8 mil.
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Reports at the time were that when they re-did his contract this winter his base salary went down considerably, like to $4M per year, and that he can now only get to $8M if he meets a number of incentives. Don't know if they have released the actual contract yet.
 




Taji34 said:
Honestly, I would support a NCAA total pay cap per program. Only way I can think to curb the skyrocketing HC salaries driven purely by "You did well, and we are okay with paying you more than the other schools"
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I doubt something like that will happen but with the way coaches salaries are exploding it would make a ton of sense to have a max amount that could be paid to a staff. Of course, schools would find a way around it so there probably isn't any point in even trying to do it.

As for the Big Ten head coaches, looks like most are hanging out in the same general vicinity with outliers being Harbaugh, Franklin and on the low side Locksley. I bet the disparity among SEC coaches would be far more dramatic.
 













If my memory from reading the WI papers is correct Chryst wanted more of the money in the FB coaching staff pool to go to some assistant coaches.
The DC was being recruited by the Green Bay Packers as a DC and smaller schools as a HC.
 

MNVCGUY said:
Or Chryst is content to make 4 million a year to coach at a place he loves.
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Probably true, but these guys all have egos of varying sizes, and with his track record of success I bet seeing himself 12th highest paid coach in a 14-team league, particularly below guys like Tucker, Brohm and (lol) Frost, has to gnaw at him.it’s not like Wisconsin doesn’t have the resources to at least keep him in the middle of the pack.
 

According to Steve Deace , Harbaugh is now the lowest paid coach in the conference. This is likely not accurate
 

WindyCityGopher said:
Probably true, but these guys all have egos of varying sizes, and with his track record of success I bet seeing himself 12th highest paid coach in a 14-team league, particularly below guys like Tucker, Brohm and (lol) Frost, has to gnaw at him.it’s not like Wisconsin doesn’t have the resources to at least keep him in the middle of the pack.
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Going to preface what I am about to say by pointing out I am not a millionaire so am doing some guessing as to how they think. But I do feel like I get how coaches think so feel pretty confident in what I am about to say.

I think as fans and regular people we get way too caught up in the money because we can't fathom having that kind of money. For example, if I am working for 50K a year and someone doing the exact same job as me is making 150K it is very likely to really bother me because that extra 100K a year is life changing money for me.

On the flip side, if I am a head coach making 4 million a year at a place I am happy at, I am unlikely to be all that obsessed with what other coaches around me are making. I most likely have an agent who can obsess about that end of things and work to improve my situation. Because yes, 5 million is absolutely more than 4 million but that extra million a year is not life changing money for me and my family.

Coaches are gym rats and most do not live high society lives. They spend most of their time in sweatpants and shorts. They are workaholics so they are not out on the town or running around with "high class" people where their entire self worth is tied up in the size of their bank account.

You are 100% correct that coaches have egos, but their egos are tied to their success on the field, not the size of their paycheck.
 

Taji34 said:
Honestly, I would support a NCAA total pay cap per program. Only way I can think to curb the skyrocketing HC salaries driven purely by "You did well, and we are okay with paying you more than the other schools"
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This might actually be an easily enforced way of getting some equity. And the big boys might support it
 

MNVCGUY said:
Going to preface what I am about to say by pointing out I am not a millionaire so am doing some guessing as to how they think. But I do feel like I get how coaches think so feel pretty confident in what I am about to say.

I think as fans and regular people we get way too caught up in the money because we can't fathom having that kind of money. For example, if I am working for 50K a year and someone doing the exact same job as me is making 150K it is very likely to really bother me because that extra 100K a year is life changing money for me.

On the flip side, if I am a head coach making 4 million a year at a place I am happy at, I am unlikely to be all that obsessed with what other coaches around me are making. I most likely have an agent who can obsess about that end of things and work to improve my situation. Because yes, 5 million is absolutely more than 4 million but that extra million a year is not life changing money for me and my family.

Coaches are gym rats and most do not live high society lives. They spend most of their time in sweatpants and shorts. They are workaholics so they are not out on the town or running around with "high class" people where their entire self worth is tied up in the size of their bank account.

You are 100% correct that coaches have egos, but their egos are tied to their success on the field, not the size of their paycheck.
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Great post totally agree with this! This also trickles down to the assistant coaches. They grind hard as well! One of our assistant coaches lives in my building (super nice guy) and the only time I see him is either @ 5 am in the morning or 11 pm at night. They work their tails off for a fraction of what the HC makes. Coaches do not get into coaching for the money. It's a life that cannot be easy but I guess it just gets in your blood!
 

Taji34 said:
Honestly, I would support a NCAA total pay cap per program. Only way I can think to curb the skyrocketing HC salaries driven purely by "You did well, and we are okay with paying you more than the other schools"
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Love it. Don't see it happening, but it's brilliant.

One of the reasons there's so much parity in the NFL is the salary cap. Want to pay your QB $30 - $40 million? Great, but you're likely have a sh!t position group somewhere. Can't institute a "salary" cap in NCAA since players aren't being paid (yet), but you could work towards a "spending" cap of some kind. It would likely help level the playing field a lot.
 

MGGopher said:
Love it. Don't see it happening, but it's brilliant.

One of the reasons there's so much parity in the NFL is the salary cap. Want to pay your QB $30 - $40 million? Great, but you're likely have a sh!t position group somewhere. Can't institute a "salary" cap in NCAA since players aren't being paid (yet), but you could work towards a "spending" cap of some kind. It would likely help level the playing field a lot.
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I don't think the concept is bad but it would be really hard to control the non-salary pay that teams would find for their coaches.
 

MNVCGUY said:
Going to preface what I am about to say by pointing out I am not a millionaire so am doing some guessing as to how they think. But I do feel like I get how coaches think so feel pretty confident in what I am about to say.

I think as fans and regular people we get way too caught up in the money because we can't fathom having that kind of money. For example, if I am working for 50K a year and someone doing the exact same job as me is making 150K it is very likely to really bother me because that extra 100K a year is life changing money for me.

On the flip side, if I am a head coach making 4 million a year at a place I am happy at, I am unlikely to be all that obsessed with what other coaches around me are making. I most likely have an agent who can obsess about that end of things and work to improve my situation. Because yes, 5 million is absolutely more than 4 million but that extra million a year is not life changing money for me and my family.

Coaches are gym rats and most do not live high society lives. They spend most of their time in sweatpants and shorts. They are workaholics so they are not out on the town or running around with "high class" people where their entire self worth is tied up in the size of their bank account.

You are 100% correct that coaches have egos, but their egos are tied to their success on the field, not the size of their paycheck.
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Again, I don't necessarily disagree with your post, but as a P5 football coach if you're significantly more accomplished than a competitor (and in some cases, heated rival) on the field, in terms of head-to-head competition, division and conference championships, top bowl games won, and overall program prestige, but you're making 20-25% less than those coaches? I have a really hard time believing that Chryst (or anyone) wouldn't be bothered by that fact. Who, in any occupation, but especially a highly competitive alpha-driven one like major college football, wants to be paid significantly less than someone you're clearly more successful than?
 

WindyCityGopher said:
Again, I don't necessarily disagree with your post, but as a P5 football coach if you're significantly more accomplished than a competitor (and in some cases, heated rival) on the field, in terms of head-to-head competition, division and conference championships, top bowl games won, and overall program prestige, but you're making 20-25% less than those coaches? I have a really hard time believing that Chryst (or anyone) wouldn't be bothered by that fact. Who, in any occupation, but especially a highly competitive alpha-driven one like major college football, wants to be paid significantly less than someone you're clearly more successful than?
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Obviously everyone is wired differently and it will be a bigger issue for some than others. I have zero doubt that their agents use all those things to justify getting their clients more money. I just don't think the coaches themselves lose much sleep worrying about what other guys are making or the fact that some other coach is making more money than them. At least not once they reach the power 5 level where their pay is really high and more than enough for them to live extremely comfortably on.
 

MNVCGUY said:
I don't think the concept is bad but it would be really hard to control the non-salary pay that teams would find for their coaches.
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Those fringe benefits/perqs could be valued.
 

bigyetti18 said:
Great post totally agree with this! This also trickles down to the assistant coaches. They grind hard as well! One of our assistant coaches lives in my building (super nice guy) and the only time I see him is either @ 5 am in the morning or 11 pm at night. They work their tails off for a fraction of what the HC makes. Coaches do not get into coaching for the money. It's a life that cannot be easy but I guess it just gets in your blood!
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PJ Fleck is astute enough to take care of his assistant coaches. He builds a cohesive group of coaches. Didn't he request less money for himself than he could have in order to give life changing money increases to his assistant coaches? PJ Fleck has become the face of Gopher Football. With the likes of Chryst, Ferentz, Fitz, and now Fleck, the Big Ten West looks very stable.

If he maintains his core of coaches, Gopher Football is in good hands for quite awhile. He is empathetic to those who want to move on an advance their coaching careers. IMHO, most of his coaches and their families love it here. They want to be here long term.

Good will begets good will. He is highly respected among his peers (or despised).
 

Seems like PJ should be bumped up a little in salary to Frost territory.
 

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