Details of Kirby Smart’s $130 million deal’s Georgia contract, bonuses, and buyout terms are revealed.
Head coach of the Georgia football team Kirby Smart became the highest paid coach in the sport last May when he signed a 10-year, $130 million contract.
Following an open records request, Marc Weiszer of the Athens Banner-Herald provided additional contract data on Friday.
For starters, Smart’s contract is fully guaranteed if he’s fired without cause any time through Dec. 31, 2028. For the remainder of the contract, which runs through 2033, it is 85 percent guaranteed if he’s fired without cause.
That’s obviously a major financial commitment from Georgia, although the Bulldogs have been tremendous in the Smart era, going 97-17 and 57-10 in the SEC. The Bulldogs have also gone 46-3 since the 2021 season, winning back-to-back national championships in 2021 and 2022. Last year’s team went 13-1 and won the Peach Bowl. The No. 5 Bulldogs are 3-1 this year, falling only at No. 1 Alabama, 41-34.
Smart will receive $13 million year from his contract. Weiszer claims that this makes Smart college sports’ public school coach the best compensated. Weiszer claims that his bonus structure is likewise $1.775 million a year.
According to Weiszer, Smart will get $1.25 million if the Bulldogs win the national championship. If the club loses the crucial game, he will still receive a bonus ($850,000.
Smart will get a quarter of a million dollars if the team finishes in the first round of the new 12-team College Football Playoff. Should Georgia lose in the semifinals, the payout will drop to $750,000 from a half-million if they advance to the quarterfinals.
Winning the SEC Championship Game brings Smart another $200,000, but even falling short there leads to $100,000.
If Smart leaves on or before December 31, 2026, there will be a $5 million buyout. If he departs by December 31, 2029, at the latest, the sum decreases to $4 million. Over the following two years (2030 and 2031), the amount decreases by one million dollars annually until it reaches $1 million with a resignation by December 31, 2033.
So even if Smart decides not to stay at UGA until the completion of his contract, he will still receive a competitive salary for the duration of it. However, considering how well the Bulldogs have played recently, he may have the safest job in the nation at the moment.
Meanwhile, Georgia’s home game against Auburn on Saturday will mark the continuation of the SEC schedule.
