Auburn’s Kevin Steele has agreed to a three-year contract extension that reportedly will make him the highest-paid defensive coordinator in college football.
The school did not provide financial terms on the deal during its announcement late Wednesday night, however ESPN cited sources as saying that the contract will pay Steele $2.5 million per year.
Steele’s new deal will run through the 2022 season.
Steele, 61, is making $1.9 million annually on his current contract, which puts him with Clemson’s Brent Venables and Texas A&M’s Mike Elko as the lone coordinators to earn at least that much.
Previously, LSU’s Dave Aranda was the highest-paid assistant in college football at $2.5 million before he left the school to take the head coaching position at Baylor earlier this month.
“Kevin has done a fantastic job with our defense the last four years making it one of the best in the country,” Auburn coach Gus Malzahn said. “This will provide great stability and leadership for our defense in the future. I’m appreciative of Kevin’s hard work.”
Steele has been at Auburn for four seasons. Prior to that he was the defensive coordinator at LSU, Alabama and Clemson.
