USC coach Lincoln Riley was an expensive hire for the Trojans, with his Oklahoma buyout, salary and related compensation costing the Trojans nearly $20 million during his first season. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
His hire, in late November 2021, was heralded as a monumental moment for USC and its struggling football program. But actually landing Lincoln Riley, one of the brightest young minds in college football, did not come cheap.
USC shelled out $19.7 million in reportable compensation to Riley between July 1, 2022, and June 30, 2023, according to a federal tax return filed by the university and obtained by The Times. Of that nearly $20 million, USC paid its new coach $10.042 million in base pay and benefits for the 2022 season.
At the time, that number made Riley one of just four coaches in all of college football earning eight figures in salary and benefits. The other three — Alabama’s Nick Saban, Georgia’s Kirby Smart and Clemson’s Dabo Swinney — had all won at least two national championships. Three other coaches — Ohio State’s Ryan Day, Texas’ Steve Sarkisian and Alabama’s Kalen DeBoer — have since crossed the $10-million threshold.
It’s unclear how much Riley’s pay has risen in the seasons since his first. The federal tax return, which covers only the fiscal year 2022, is the first public disclosure of Riley’s compensation since he left Oklahoma for USC at the end of the 2021 season. At Oklahoma, he was already one of the highest-paid coaches in college football at $7.812 million per year.
Read more: ‘Hungry for more’: Takeaways from USC football’s spring camp
The remaining $9.616 million paid to Riley by USC during the 2022 fiscal year was listed in tax form only as “other related compensation.” But at least half of that figure, according to USC’s filing, paid for…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/usc-paid-nearly-20-million-001320728.html
Author : LA Times
Publish date : 2024-05-16 00:13:20
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