The Georgia Bulldogs football team just made a big move on Kirby Smart. The team recently announced it has signed the head coach to a contract extension that will run through the 2031 season. According to ESPN, Smart will get $112.5 million in the 10-year-deal, which is the most ever paid to a college football coach. Smart will have an average salary of $11.25 million and will rise to $12.25 million in his final season.
“This is home for us, our roots run deep here,” Smart said in a statement. “My commitment to this university and our football program is unwavering. I’m thankful to president Jere Morehead and [athletic director] Josh Brooks for their continued support of Georgia football. It’s an honor being the head football coach at the University of Georgia, and while I’m certainly proud of what we’ve been able to accomplish, I’m confident the best is yet to come!”
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Smart, 46, has made a major impact on the Bulldogs since being hired as the head coach in 2016. In his seven seasons at Georgia, Smart has posted a 66-15 record and led the Bulldogs to four SEC East Championships, one SEC Championship and the national championship which was won in January. Smart is also a two-time winner of the SEC Coach of the Year award (2017, 2021).
“Coach Smart’s impact on the University of Georgia extends far past his significant accolades as our head football coach,” Georgia Director of Athletics Josh Brooks said. “He and his wife are Bulldogs through and through, and it is evident that Athens and UGA mean as much to him as he means to us. I am excited for our football program’s continued success under his direction. The future of Georgia Football remains bright with Coach Smart as its steadfast leader.”
Georgia enters the season as one of the favorites to win the national title again. And while Smart understands teams will be after them because they are champions, they are not going to sit around and wait for things to happen. “People ask the question, How does it feel to be hunted?” Smart said at SEC Media Days in Atlanta this week, per 247Sports. “We will not be hunted at the University of Georgia. I can promise you that. The hunting we do will be from us going the other direction. We’re not going to sit back and be passive about.”
