The University of Alabama system compensation committee approved new contracts for several athletics employees on Friday morning, including director of athletics Greg Byrne and football coach Nick Saban.
Byrne’s contract calls for a salary of $980,000 for the 2018-19 academic year. The seven-year deal increases his base compensation by $25,000 annually, finishing at a base salary of $1.130 million for the 2024-25 year. The total base salary is $7.385 million over the seven years.
According to research by USA Today and Athletic Director U earlier this year, Byrne’s $980,000 salary would have made him the seventh highest-paid athletic director based on 2017-18 salaries. Its database includes salaries for 115 of 130 Division I athletics directors. Byrne’s initial contract when he arrived at Alabama in 2017 called for a $900,000 salary through June 2018, then increased by $25,000 per year.
Saban’s previously-announced new deal includes a base salary of $275,000 each year through 2025-26 and a talent fee of $7.225 million for 2018-19. The talent fee increases by $400,000 each year through 2025-26, finishing with a salary of $10.025 million. The combined base salary and talent fee of the deal is worth a combined $62.775 million through 2025-26 before bonuses.
Saban receives an additional $800,000 at the end of the 2019, 2020 and 2021 football seasons if he remains as head coach through the final regular season games of those seasons.
The contract also contains wording that it will be re-evaluated if Saban’s “total guaranteed annual compensation” falls behind the average of the five highest-paid NCAA football coaches or the average of the three highest-paid SEC football coaches. If that occurs, Alabama agreed to increase Saban’s guaranteed compensation to the higher of those two averages.
The contract also stipulates that the university will pay $100,000 to the Nick’s Kids Foundation annually through 2025.
The committee also approved new contracts for all three assistants with the men’s basketball program. John Pelphrey’s contract is worth $435,625 per year. Antoine Pettway’s deal is worth $281,875 a year. Yasir Rosemond received a deal worth $256,250 annually. All three contracts extend through June 2020. The contracts also include bonuses if the basketball program reaches the NCAA Tournament, Sweet Sixteen, Elite Eight or Final Four.
The committee also approved a new contract for women’s basketball coach Kristy Curry. Her contract runs through the end of the 2021-22 basketball season and includes a base salary of $275,000 with a talent fee of $190,000 per year.
Softball coach Patrick Murphy received a five-year deal with total compensation of $375,000 for this year, rising by $15,000 per year through 2022-23.
Women’s golf coach Mic Potter’s five-year contract was also approved. It includes total compensation of $240,000 through June 2023. Men’s golf coach Jay Seawell also received a five-year deal. His annual compensation is $242,000.
New rowing coach Glenn Putyrae received a four-year contract worth $150,000.
Men’s tennis coach George Husack had a three-year contract approved. His base salary is $135,000 through June 2021.
Bob Welton, hired earlier this year as director of player personnel for the Alabama football program, received a two-year deal worth $200,000 annually.
Reach Ben Jones at ben@tidesports.com or 205-722-0196.
