USA Today Releases Kelly's Salary, National Rankings

In USA Today's annual survey of college football head coaches salaries, Michigan’s Jim Harbaugh leads the way, making $9 million this year, overtaking Alabama coach Nick Saban at $6.9 million.

A year ago, Saban led all coaches in salary at $7,087,481.

Finishing out the top five are Ohio State's Urban Meyer at $6 million, Oklahoma's Bob Stoops at $5.5 million and Florida State's Jimbo Fisher at $5.25 million.

Seventh-year Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly is listed 65th among coaches ranked, at a salary of $1.625 million. That number is far from what Kelly actually makes — especially considering how he trails several young coaches at Group of Five schools like Bob Diaco at Connecticut ($1.7M), Scott Frost at Central Florida ($1.704M) and Mike Norvell at Memphis ($1.8M).

The numbers in Kelly’s contract are manipulated, because as a private school, Notre Dame does not want a paper trail that shows a football coach among the highest paid employees.

As in past years, Notre Dame's federal tax return notes that Kelly is permitted to receive compensation from sources outside the university "with prior written approval from the university" and that any such income is not reported on the return.

When Charlie Weis was fired after the 2009 season, he told the South Bend Tribune that a significant amount of his compensation came through adidas, and another large portion from Notre Dame Sports Properties, for his radio and TV shows. It is very likely that Kelly’s deal with Notre Dame includes similar clauses.