The University of California, known for its renowned academic programs, research institutions, and medical centers, has an interesting trend when it comes to the salaries of its top-paid employees. Surprisingly, the highest-paid individuals are not professors, chancellors, or even the university president. Instead, the top earners are the head coaches of UCLA football and UC Berkeley football, as well as the UCLA men's basketball coach.
According to data from Transparent California, a database of California public employee salaries, the highest-paid employee at UC in 2022 was UCLA football coach Chip Kelly, who earned a total compensation of $5.7 million. While his base salary was $300,000, the majority of his earnings, approximately $5.5 million, came from talent fees and bonuses. These included $4.5 million for media appearances, a $1 million retention bonus, and additional payments tied to the team's performance and players' academic achievements.
Similarly, UC Berkeley football coach Justin Wilcox and UCLA men's basketball coach Mick Cronin both earned around $4 million in compensation, with a significant portion of their earnings also derived from fees and bonuses.
It's worth noting that among the top earners, the highest-paid professor and the fourth most-compensated employee was Jason Roostaeian, a clinical professor in the plastic surgery department at UCLA. He earned $3.5 million last year. In contrast, the president of the University of California system, Michael Drake, earned a relatively modest income of $992,000 in 2022.
These salary figures reveal an interesting dynamic at the University of California, where the coaches of popular athletic programs are among the highest-paid individuals, surpassing the compensation of many other university personnel, including professors and administrators.
The vast majority of UC employees, however, received far less than these select individuals. More than 99% of employees made between $30,000 and $550,000.
The compensation of the median employee was close to $100,000 — roughly 2% of Kelly’s total earnings in 2022.
The three head coaches who make over $4 million are among the highest-paid public employees across the state — a circumstance common in other states as well. Their compensation far exceeds the earnings of, for instance, San Francisco Mayor London Breed, who is the highest-paid California mayor with a total compensation of $444,000 in 2022. The highest-compensated person employed by the California State University system, the state’s other large university system, was San Diego State University president Adela de la Torre, who made about $710,000 last year.
“Due to the competitive market of the conferences in which the three coaches noted participate, the amount of compensation is in alignment with comparable peers in the industry,” wrote UC spokesperson Ryan King in an email to the Chronicle.
In fact, relative to coaching salaries at other schools in the country, the compensation of these three coaches is modest. Kelly’s nearly $6 million compensation, for instance, is ranked No. 27 among the salaries of other college football head coaches across the country. The highest pay, according to USA Today, is University of Alabama coach Nick Saban’s $11.4 million.
Kelly’s compensation is expected to grow after a contract extension signed earlier this year outlined a $6.2 million salary by 2025, with UCLA athletic director Martin Jarmond citing the team’s improved record under Kelly as a reason for increasing his salary.
UCLA’s football and basketball programs are big business. Last year, the school’s football program made nearly $43 million in revenue from ticket sales, media contracts, and sponsorships, according to data from the U.S. Department of Education. The Bruins men’s basketball program generated close to $13 million.
Still, the UCLA athletic department reported a $28 million deficit at the end of the 2022 fiscal year and an overall four-year shortfall of $131 million, as revenue remained below pre-pandemic numbers. Coach salaries totaled $22 million across all teams last year, equivalent to roughly a fifth of all UCLA team expenses.
Despite head coaches topping the list of UC salaries, the majority of individuals in the top 1% of earners — those with compensations of over $525,000 — are professors or executive-level administrators like chancellors, deans, and vice presidents.
The top 1% among UC employees
The table below shows pay data for every UC employee who made over $30,000 last year. Use the search bar to look up an individual, and select a row to see a person’s compensation breakdown.