The official student newspaper of Vanderbilt University

The Vanderbilt Hustler

The official student newspaper of Vanderbilt University.
Since 1888
The official student newspaper of Vanderbilt University

The Vanderbilt Hustler

The official student newspaper of Vanderbilt University.
The official student newspaper of Vanderbilt University

The Vanderbilt Hustler

The official student newspaper of Vanderbilt University.

Head coach Derek Mason’s salary released as part of national report

Derek+Mason+postgame+as+Vanderbilt+defeated+the+MTSU+Blue+Raiders+47-24+at+Vanderbilt+Stadium+September+10%2C+2016.
Ziyi Liu
Derek Mason postgame as Vanderbilt defeated the MTSU Blue Raiders 47-24 at Vanderbilt Stadium September 10, 2016.

According to analysis by USA Today, Vanderbilt head football coach Derek Mason will make $2,556,877 for the 2016 season. That salary puts him at 44th in the nation out of the 119 coaches with salary information listed.

This season marks the first time that USA Today was able to present this data for Mason, as prior years are unknown. Additionally, other pay, max bonuses and bonuses paid out last year are also unreported for Mason.

The last time that USA Today had salary information for Vanderbilt football was in 2013, the last year with James Franklin as head coach. That year he made $1,842,771. Now at Penn State, Franklin’s salary has more than doubled to $4,500,000 with a max bonus of $1,000,000.

Since Vanderbilt is a private institution, certain state laws exempt it from releasing its full compensation data, according to the methodology of the report. Thus, there was no requirement for the school to put out all of the associated information, such as bonuses, that is available from public universities. However, according to The Tennessean, Mason’s listed salary is identical to what was reported from a 2014 federal tax return.

Only Missouri head coach Barry Odom makes less than Mason in the SEC, but he has the potential for a bonus of $1,025,000. Nine SEC coaches rank in the top 20 of highest paid coaches with salaries of over $4 million.

Jim Harbaugh, head coach of the second-ranked Michigan Wolverines, has the highest salary this year at just over $9 million. Alabama head coach Nick Saban is a distant second, with a salary just under $7 million.

Nine of the schools listed do not have salary information for the head coaches, including the University of Miami and Baylor University.

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Josh Hamburger, Author
Ziyi Liu, Author

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