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Steve Sarkisian's contract extension with Texas will nearly double his salary

Once approved, the deal will make him one of the highest-paid FBS coaches

jason owens · sean leahy
·3-min read

Texas is set to approve a new four-year contract extension for head football coach Steve Sarkisian that will run through the 2030 season.

The University of Texas System board of regents still needs to OK the extension, which would double Sarkisian's pay to over $10 million per season. There is a meeting scheduled for Feb. 21-22 where the contract is on the agenda.

Once approved, the extension will make Sarkisian one of the top-10 highest-paid FBS coaches.

Terms of the deal were released on Saturday with Sarkisian making a $10.3 million salary that will increase by $100,000 per year through 2030. His original 2024 salary was set to be $5.8 million.

Sarkisian will also be given a one-time payment by Texas of $300,000 by April 1 and has bonuses including:

  • 20 hours of private plane use per year, which will not carry over from year to year.

  • $150,000 for reaching a conference championship game and $300,000 for a conference title game win.

  • $100,000 for participating in a Bowl Game that is not part of the College Football Playoff.

  • $250,000 for reaching the First Round of the CFP.

  • $1 million for reaching the CFP National Championship game and $1.25 million for a national title win.

Steve Sarkisian has signed with Texas through the 2030 season. (Tim Warner/Getty Images)
Steve Sarkisian has signed with Texas through the 2030 season. (Tim Warner/Getty Images)

"I said it when I came here three years ago, this is a dream job for me," Sarkisian said in a statement. "It's a destination job, and I'm fired up every day to be the head coach at The University of Texas. We're thrilled with what we've been able to accomplish and proud of the culture we've built and the way our players have grown — on and off the field."

Texas teased Sarkisian's extension last month with a social media video captioned "Just getting started" and Sarkisian proclaiming, "I came here to win championships."

Texas shared the video as Alabama's head-coaching position was still vacant in the aftermath of Nick Saban's retirement. Sarkisian was an assistant and offensive coordinator at Alabama under Saban in 2016 and again from 2019-20. He was rumored as a candidate for the head-coaching position.

After Texas posted that video, Alabama hired former Washington coach Kalen DeBoer and now Texas has extended Sarkisian.

Prior to joining Texas, Sarkisian was the head coach at Washington from 2009-13 and then at USC from 2014-15. USC fired him midway through the 2015 season. He spent two seasons as the offensive coordinator for the Atlanta Falcons from 2017-18.

Texas has shown progress in each season since Sarkisian joined the program. The Longhorns finished 5-7 in his first season in 2021 before an 8-5 finish that ended with a loss to Washington in the Alamo Bowl in 2022. Texas went 12-1 in 2023 en route to a Big 12 championship before losing a thriller to Washington in the Sugar Bowl in the College Football Playoff semifinal.

Sarkisian will now continue to lead Texas as it joins Oklahoma in moving to the SEC next season.