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The five highest-paid coaches in the University of California system collectively earned about $18.3 million last year, an increase of 41% from five years prior, according to the latest UC data.
The coaches pay is part of the 2021 salary data for all University of California employees that has been recently added to The Bee’s California state worker salary database.
The 41% increase in the pay for elite UC coaches outpaced inflation, which rose by about 13% during the same period. The average hourly wage paid to California workers rose about 20%.
Highest paid UC coaches in 2021
- UCLA football coach Chip Kelly ($5.7 million)
- UC Berkeley football coach Justin Wilcox ($4 million)
- UCLA basketball coach Mick Cronin ($3.9 million)
- Former UCLA football coach Jim Mora ($3.1 million)
- UC Berkeley basketball coach Mark Fox ($1.7 million)
Coach pay has exploded in big-ticket college sports, as money from big television contracts and merchandising increases. Kelly’s $5.7 million payday doesn’t even put him among the 12 highest-paid college football coaches in America.
Coach pay in big ticket sports largely comes from merchandise sales, television contracts, ticket sales, booster donations — and not from taxpayers, University of California officials say.
There are scores of head coaches across the UC system toiling for far less money than the wealthy coaches at a few high-profile programs. Median pay for the 177 UC employees with “head coach” in their title in 2021 was about $104,000.
That said, the only California state employees who earned more than $3 million last year were coaches — and a UCLA plastic surgeon.
This story was originally published August 23, 2022 at 5:00 AM.