ATLANTA — For the second time in five years, the Georgia Bulldogs will take the field on Monday night looking for a long-coveted national championship.
And if the Dawgs can bring home that title, Coach Kirby Smart will bring home a nice chunk of change.
Smart's contract was extended and re-worked in 2018, emphasizing higher base pay and reducing the importance of bonus incentives. It made him one of the top-10 highest-paid coaches in college football, but also means he gets slightly less specifically for winning the national championship.
Still, it's nothing to turn your nose up at.
Kirby Smart's bonuses in numbers
(Note: For escalating bonuses tied to the same achievement in Smart's contract, the highest number represents simply the total bonus, not additional money for unlocking each bonus. For instance, Smart does not get $500,000 for reaching the National Championship and then another $700,000 for winning it. The $700,000 represents the full bonus.)
- $100,000: Play in the SEC Championship Game
- $225,000: Win SEC Championship
- $175,000: Play in the College Football Playoff
- $250,000: Advance to CFP Semifinal
- $500,000: Play in National Championship Game
- $700,000: Win National Championship
- $50,000: Win SEC Coach of the Year
- $100,000: Win National Coach of the Year
- $75,000: If UGA finishes in the top third of UGA Graduation Success Rate and Academic Progress Rate
So far, Smart has already racked up quite a few incentive bonuses - $50,000 for winning SEC Coach of the Year, $100,000 for reaching the SEC Championship Game (it would have been $225,000 if the Dawgs had won), and $500,000 for getting to the National Championship Game.
That's a tidy little $650,000. But how much will he get specifically if the Dawgs beat Alabama and become national champions for the first time since 1980?
Another $200,000, is the answer. Smart's contract calls for a $700,000 bonus in full if the team goes all the way to the National Championship and wins it.
Technically, that's also not all Kirby can bring home: If UGA finishes in the top third of SEC schools in Graduation Success Rate and Academic Progress Rate, he pulls in another $75,000, and if he wins National Coach of the Year, he'll got another $100,000.