Early last month, the University of Florida made Urban Meyer the SEC’s highest paid coach, with a contract valued at $24 Million USD over 6 years. That’s 4 Million big-ones a year — not too shabby if you ask me. Comically, his $4 Million USD/yr contract is only $100k/yr bigger than the #2 paid coach in the SEC, Nick Saban, of the University of Alabama. In further linear fashion, Nick Saban’s $3.9 Million USD/yr is another $100k/yr greater than the #3 paid coach in the SEC, Les Miles, of LSU. If you’ve recruited for any period of time, this scenario looks quite familiar – sometimes, the deciding factor is the mere, incremental salary premium you’re offering . . . relative to the rest of the field.
Ultimately, the SEC is where you want to coach if you’re looking to get paid. 4 of the top 10 highest paid coaches can be found there, with the average salary equaling a whopping $2.45 Million USD/yr. But here’s where it gets good — The top 3 highest-paid coaches (Meyer of UF, Saban of Alabama, and Miles of LSU) all make, at a minimum, $1 Million USD (or more) per year more than the rest of the coaches in the SEC. How could this be?
After all, Florida, Alabama, and LSU surely have no recruiting concerns. They’re like the Microsoft, Apple, and Google of College Football – people are lining up to play there, so they don’t have to hustle like the smaller schools. If you recruit for (or have recruited for) a smaller competitor to the industry juggernauts, you know where I’m coming from. Furthermore, each of the aforementioned universities have strong (relatively speaking) educational programs, and their athletic facilities are second to none . . . not to mention program prestige and television time.
In fact, most college football fans would agree with me that Florida, Alabama, and LSU could win a minimum 9 games per year if the Waterboy himself or herself was coaching – they literally have that much talent! What I’m trying to say here is that recruiting ability has nothing to do with why these coaches are paid so much more than the rest. Acquiring talent isn’t the issue; rather, it’s packaging it properly, building a cohesive unit, and executing in big-time situations where most people would fold under the pressure. What pressure, might you ask? Try going into the University of Tennessee’s stadium with a sea of 100,000 screaming, orange-wearing, hostile fans looking to send you and your team home on a massive gurney!
The ability to bring all that talent together (massaging 11 superstars to act in concert as 1 unit) is what separates Meyer, Saban, and Miles. The end result? 2 extra wins and a “shot at the big one.” See, it’s not so much that these 3 coaches actually have to take home the national championship. Nope, it’s not about that – what it truly is about, however, is that when you have one of these gentlemen at the helm, you have that “shot”.
In conclusion, I’ve learned over the years that none of us can achieve greatness in all we do – but it’s the constant pursuit of greatness that separates the wheat from the chaff. And when it comes to justifying compensation, the reason why the top 1% of any given market is paid the premium they’re paid is because they can effectively communicate that they might not be perfect, but they’re definitely worth a couple extra wins . . . and ultimately, a “shot at the big one.”
Can you say the same? If so, recognize that ‘market rates’ are for, well, the rest of the market (the mass majority of the bell curve, if you will) . . . and begin building a case to earn what you’re truly worth, even in a down economy.
