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Every.
Penny.
And probably more.
That might seem absurd, paying a college football coach $4 million per year, especially in these challenging economic times, when many universities are cutting budgets, reducing faculty and shrinking enrollments.
But Urban Meyer is a proven commodity, having won two national championships in his four years at the University of Florida, where he has led the Gators to a 44-9 record and put them in every conversation about the elite football programs in America.
He's among the best at what he does.
He won big at Bowling Green. He won bigger at Utah. He has won the biggest prize at Florida more than any of his predecessors, even the legendary Steve Spurrier.
Simply put: Meyer is as close as you get to a sure bet in college sports.
Thing is, though, Meyer has done more than win on the field. He has been a moneymaker, too.
There's no doubt the Gators' recent football success has made a tremendous financial impact on the university. In fact, the University Athletic Association, which pays Meyer's salary, gave $6 million to UF this year to help offset the school's budget deficit. And since his arrival in Gainesville in 2005, the UAA has donated $17.3 million to the university's coffers.
So while Meyer becomes the highest-paid coach in the Southeastern Conference -- ahead of Alabama's Nick Saban ($3.9 million) and LSU's Les Miles ($3.75 million) -- it's also a great deal for the Gators.
They get one of the top coaches in the college game, and the program's success helps pay that coach's salary.
Sweet, huh? It gets better.
Meyer also has committed to give $1 million to the Florida Opportunity Scholars program, a UF campaign that hopes to raise $50 million for economically disadvantaged undergraduates who are the first in their families to attend college.
Any way you look at it -- given the cost of doing business in big-time college football nowadays, given the fact that Southern California's Peter Carroll makes $4.4 million and Notre Dame's Charlie Weis makes $4.2 million annually -- this is money well spent.
Besides, it doesn't come from your tax dollars.
And if you think about it, the new six-year, $24 million contract Meyer finalized Monday wasn't all that much of a raise over what he made last season.
His old contract paid him $3.25 million. That figure climbs to $3.625 million if you add in the $375,000 in bonuses he earned for winning the BCS national championship, SEC title and finishing in the Top 10 in the rankings.
I know, I know. The money in big-time college sports, and particularly in football, has gotten out of hand. It's further proof that, as a society, our priorities are out of whack. It's an indictment of our culture.
But it is what it is. And it doesn't matter if it's fair, or wise, or right. People want what they want.
Football coaches get paid more than professors because, in too many places, athletics pay more than academics. And I doubt that's going to change any time soon.
Big-time college football is a big-money business. What a coach is worth depends entirely on what some school is willing to pay. Florida has determined that Meyer is worth $4 million per year, and it's difficult to disagree.
Based on his performance, on the field and at the bank, he's worth every penny.
And probably more.
(Ray McNulty is sports columnist for Scripps Treasure Coast (Fla.) Newspapers, The Stuart News, Fort Pierce Tribune and Vero Beach Press Journal. Contact him at ray.mcnulty@scripps.com or on the Web at www.tcpalm.com.)
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