Power 5 coaches and commissioners aren’t the only ones getting rich. There’s another type of official making bank: athletic directors.
– Amanda Christovich
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Photo: Kirthmon F. Dozier, Detroit Free Press/Design: Alex Brooks
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Out of 58 Power 5 athletic directors for whom data was collected, 25 had contracts awarding at least $1 million in total 2020-21 compensation, according to a report compiled by USA Today and Syracuse’s S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications, and analyzed by AthleticDirectorU.
In other words, at least 40% of Power 5 athletic directors were members of the million-dollar club last year.
- Four athletic directors topped $2 million in total compensation.
- Seven SEC athletic directors made at least $1 million, the most of any Power 5 conference (6 Big Ten, 5 ACC, 3 Pac-12, 3 Big 12).
- Every AD had a contract for at least $500,000.
The survey couldn’t provide data for four private schools: Boston College, Miami, USC, and Stanford.
There’s one caveat to this data: While it reflects the money ADs were contracted to earn, some took pay cuts due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Michigan AD Warde Manuel, for example, had a contract for $1.5 million. He ranks 10th among current ADs. Even though he took a 10% pay cut, he still would have made well over $1 million.
And some of the pay cuts may not have been executed completely. “As a practical matter, many of the pay cuts were implemented in a series of contract amendments which extended, and then later reduced, the original reduction period,” WME agent Robert Lattinville, who wrote the survey, told FOS.
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Photo: University of Texas Athletics/Design: Alex Brooks
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The athletic directors with the highest contracts aren’t necessarily surprising, given the wealth of the departments where they work. But they do illustrate one thing: As college sports change, schools appear to value a good AD now more than ever.
A first observation? Everything’s bigger in Texas, including AD salaries. Two of the state’s ADs ranked in the top five.
- Texas AD Chris Del Conte had the highest contract in 2020-21 at $2.4 million, according to the AthleticDirectorU data.
- Former Northwestern AD Jim Phillips ($2.3M) ranked second, followed by Arizona State’s Ray Anderson ($2.1M) and Oklahoma’s Joe Castiglione ($2M).
- Texas Tech’s Kirby Hocutt ranked fifth, with $1.9 million.
Texas and Texas Tech however, laid off staff during the pandemic year. ADs took temporary pay cuts on a marginal rate.
They don’t just make money from doing their jobs. Some can also line their pockets for getting fired without cause.
Del Conte has the biggest payout, at $14.1 million. However, not all of the highest-paid ADs have the highest payouts.
Rounding out the top five are ADs at UCLA, Texas Tech, Tennessee, and Alabama.
It’s safe to assume Texas and Oklahoma’s ADs will get a raise when joining the SEC in 2025 — if they haven’t already.
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- Between January 1 and June 30, the NCAA spent $180,000 on federal lobbying, according to Politico. Power 5 schools spent $900,000. FOS has confirmed these numbers.
- LSU gymnast Olivia Dunne signed her first endorsement deal with athletic brand Vuori, according to Forbes. The two-year deal is reportedly worth “mid six figures.”
- The Pac-12 announced it will sell NFTs of player highlights shown on its networks. The conference will work with Recur and Veritone to create and sell them.
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Pandemic-induced layoffs and changing attitudes about paying players have made the ever-ballooning salaries of some athletic department officials more controversial than ever.
Some argue that ADs’ and coaches’ jobs continue to get more difficult — and they should be compensated as such. Others say that athletic department revenue should be shared with some of the players, which could lower salaries for the Chris Del Contes of the world.
But here’s the reality: Pandemic revenues are already beginning to rebound, and schools still don’t have to pay players.
Many Power 5 programs are left with millions that the schools have to spend. Sometimes, that’s with lavish facilities. Other times, it’s lining the pockets of the department’s top officials.
Tips? Feedback? Reach out to me at amanda@fos.company or on Twitter.
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