Kirby Smart, Georgia Agree To Record 10-Year Extension, Team Says

ATHENS, GA — The University of Georgia and football coach Kirby Smart reached a record 10-year contract extension that runs through 2031, the school announced Thursday.

Smart's base salary and supplemental compensation for the 2022 season will be $10.25 million, and annual increases will put his base salary in the final year of the contract at $12.25 million, according to the school.

Smart's contract is worth $112.5 million and is highest-paying ever for a college football coach, according to ESPN. It comes after he led the Bulldogs to their first national championship in 41 years with a 33-18 win over Alabama in the title game in January.

"I'm confident the best is yet to come!" Smart said in a statement.

The 46-year-old coach previously signed a 7-year, $49 million contract extension in 2018, months after the Bulldogs reached the College Football Playoff National Championship Game for the first time, losing to the Crimson Tide.

Since taking over as Georgia head coach in 2016, Smart has led the Bulldogs to two College Football Playoff appearances, an SEC title and four SEC Championship Game appearances. His teams have gone 66-15, including 6-2 in bowl games and 3-1 in the playoff, and produced 45 NFL Draft picks, including 11 in the first round. He was named SEC Coach of the Year twice.

Smart's deal continues a trend of big-name college football coaches signing massive contract extensions, resetting the market for coaching salaries.

Earlier this offseason, LSU hired Brian Kelly away from Notre Dame with a 10-year, $95 million contract.

Just before the 2021 season, Texas A&M's Jimbo Fisher and Alabama's Nick Saban inked lucrative deals. Fisher's four-year contract extension will pay him $90 million over 10 years, and Saban's will pay out an average of $10.6 million through 2028.

Michigan State's Mel Tucker agreed to a 10-year, $95 million extension in November, and Clemson's Dabo Swinney signed a 10-year, $93 million deal in 2019.