KU Makes Lance Leipold One of the Highest-Paid Coaches in College Football
After leading Kansas to back-to-back winning seasons for the first time since the Mark Mangino era, Lance Leipold has earned a contract extension with the Kansas Jayhawks that will make him one of the highest-paid coaches in America.
According to a report from ESPN’s Pete Thamel, Leipold and Kansas have reached an agreement on an extension that will pay the fourth-year head coach more than $7 million annually, ranking him among the top three average annual salaries in the Big 12 and among the 20 highest-paid coaches in college football.
Thamel also reports that the new contract will not include new years on Leipold’s contract, but is a salary increase that is part of a larger investment into the Kansas football program. Kansas athletic director Travis Goff has also recently helped lead a $450 million investment into upgrading the Jayhawks’ football stadium and facilities, which was long overdue.
In three seasons with the Jayhawks, Leipold has gone 17-21, but has a 15-11 record over the past two seasons, including two bowl trips and a finish inside the AP Top 25 this past season.
Prior to his arrival, Kansas was winless under Les Miles and hadn’t been to a bowl game since 2008. The dark days of KU football appear to be a thing of the past as the team in Lawrence has been built into a winner under Leipold, and now it appears that the Jayhawks are doing everything they can to keep it that way.
