College sports, their coaches, and the big money in between : The Indicator from Planet Money If you had to guess, would you say the president of a university usually makes more money than the football coach? Well, you may be wrong. A college's football coach is often their highest paid employee. The University of Alabama pays its football coach on average close to $11 million. Today on the show, why are college football coaches paid so much? Do their salaries really make economic sense? Related episodes:Why the Olympics cost so much (Apple / Spotify)Want to get ahead in youth sports? Try staying back a year (Apple / Spotify)For sponsor-free episodes of The Indicator from Planet Money, subscribe to Planet Money+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.Fact-checking by Sierra Juarez. Music by Drop Electric. Find us: TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Newsletter.
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Why are college coaches paid so much?
May 28, 20253:00 AM ET
Darian Woods
Cooper Katz McKim
Kate Concannon
Why are college coaches paid so much?
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Alabama head coach Kalen DeBoer makes nearly 11 million dollars per year over an eight year contract.
Vasha Hunt/AP Newsroom
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Vasha Hunt/AP Newsroom
Alabama head coach Kalen DeBoer makes nearly 11 million dollars per year over an eight year contract.
Vasha Hunt/AP Newsroom
If you had to guess, would you say the president of a university usually makes more money than the football coach? Well, you may be wrong. A college's football coach is often their highest paid employee. The University of Alabama pays its football coach on average close to $11 million. Today on the show, why are college football coaches paid so much? Do their salaries really make economic sense? Related episodes:Why the Olympics cost so much (Apple / Spotify)Want to get ahead in youth sports? Try staying back a year (Apple / Spotify) For sponsor-free episodes of The Indicator from Planet Money, subscribe to Planet Money+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Fact-checking by Sierra Juarez. Music by Drop Electric. Find us: TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Newsletter.
University of Alabama
American Football
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