Talking football coaches salaries, buyouts, overpaid and underpaid

The annual college football coaches compensation package was released Wednesday by USA TODAY Sports, and there’s a lot to talk about.

The first obvious trend uncovered this year is that salaries continue to explode exponentially and show no sign of slowing down. Kirby Smart of Georgia leads the pack at more than $13 million per season but there are many others making eight figures.

With the rise in pay, there are also major buyouts attached to these deals. Georgia would owe Smart more than $100 million if the school fired him at the end of this season. Kalen DeBoer, Dabo Swinney, Steve Sarkisian and Mike Norvell also have among the highest payouts should schools cut ties with them without cause.

Even with all this money being spent, plenty of coaches are underpaid. A couple include UNLV’s Barry Odom and Indiana’s Curt Cignetti. And there’s also some who are overpaid, starting with Florida’s Billy Napier and Alabama-Birmingham’s Trent Dilfer.

Paul Myerberg and Dan Wolken of USA TODAY Sports discuss these topics and more in a special edition of the College Football Fix.