It’s official: Massive raise makes Shane Beamer highest-paid coach in USC history

Shane Beamer is getting paid.

The South Carolina board of trustees approved a new deal for the Gamecocks’ head football coach on Friday that will pay him $6.125 million in 2023 with escalators of $250,000 each year through the 2027 season — making him the highest-paid coach in school history. That’s up from his previous salary of $2.75 million annually.

Will Muschamp, who was the highest-paid football coach at USC, made $4.4 million in the final year of his tenure in 2020.

Beamer just concluded his second season at the helm in Columbia, elevating the program to an 8-4 regular season and a No. 19 national ranking. He’s 15-11 over that span, tied for the same mark Muschamp recorded over his first two years as head coach.

“I’m very proud of what we’ve done the last two seasons, but it’s just the beginning,” Beamer said through a school statement. “The best days of Gamecock football are about to happen.”

The Gamecocks have had their ups and downs under Beamer while maintaining a steady, upward trajectory. Late-season wins over Auburn and Florida in 2021 got USC bowl-eligible. In 2022, the upset wins over No. 5 Tennessee and No. 8 Clemson to close out the regular season marked the first time in school history South Carolina knocked off top 10 teams in back-to-back weeks. Those victories also knocked both Tennessee and Clemson out of the College Football Playoff picture.

USC concluded the year with a 45-38 Gator Bowl loss to No. 21 Notre Dame.

Beamer was hired in December 2020 following Muschamp’s ousting amid a 2-5 start. The Gamecocks finished the year 2-8 before Beamer, then the tight ends coach under Lincoln Riley at Oklahoma, took over.

Prior to his raise, Beamer was the lowest-paid coach in the Southeastern Conference among the 13 coaches whose contracts are publicly available. His salary now ranks 10th in the SEC.

He was also the fourth-lowest-paid Power Five head coach and one of just three coaches ranked between No. 11 and 25 in the final College Football Playoff ranking making less than $3 million annually (along with UTSA’s Jeff Traylor and South Alabama’s Kane Wommack).

Contract negotiations for Beamer’s new deal have been ongoing behind the scenes for much of the last year, according to sources with knowledge of the negotiations.

“Coach Beamer has done a tremendous job as the leader of our football program,” athletic director Ray Tanner said Friday in USC’s news release. “His passion and desire to excel on and off the field have inspired our student-athletes and our great fanbase. I am very excited about the synergy and trajectory of our football program.”

Beamer’s contract comes amid a wave of new deals for SEC head coaches. Missouri’s Eli Drinkwitz saw his salary raised to $6 million for 2023 under a new contract that will escalate to $7 million in 2027.

Ole Miss’ Lane Kiffin also received a massive extension amid flirtations with the Auburn vacancy that was filled by Liberty’s Hugh Freeze. Kiffin’s new contract is expected to pay an average of $9 million annually over seven years.

Mississippi State head coach Zach Arnett is now the lowest-paid coach in the conference after receiving a starting base salary of $3 million. Arnett was bumped up from defensive coordinator to head coach following the sudden death of Mike Leach last month.

Shane Beamer contract details

2023 — $6.125 million

2024 — $6.375 million

2025 — $6.625 million

2026 — $6.875 million

2027 — $7.125 million

What about other USC football coaches?

▪ 2016-20: Will Muschamp was slated to make $4.4 million in 2020 before the school’s top-paid sports coaches took at 10% pay cut to help with the financial impacts of the COVID pandemic.

▪ 2005-2015: Steve Spurrier made $1.25 million annually when he was hired in late 2004. That grew to $4,028,600 in 2015, the season in which he left the program in October.

▪ 1999-2004: Lou Holtz was making about $900,000 annually in the final years of his USC tenure.

▪ 1994-1998: Brad Scott’s base salary was closer to $130,000 a year with the Gamecocks. He also received a $275,000 loan from the Gamecock Club as part of his final contract. He wasn’t required to repay the loan because he was dismissed.