Nick Saban was the highest-paid college football coach in America last season, and he just won another national championship with Alabama, so he’s definitely earned a raise that he is bound to get sooner or later.

Saban has now won five national titles — four with the Crimson Tide, and one with LSU.

It’s worth noting that in 2015, three NFL coaches — the New Orleans Saints’ Sean Payton, the Seattle Seahawks’ Pete Carroll and the New England Patriots’ Bill Belichick — earned more than Saban. The interesting thing is that Saban earned less than those three coaches despite winning more championships in his sport than his higher-earning peers have won in theirs.

Payton (1), Belichick (4) and Carroll (1) have combined for one more championship than Saban, yet they collectively made $2.4 million more than Saban.

As you can see in this chart below, Saban barely earned more Los Angeles Rams’ coach Jeff Fisher and former Philadelphia Eagles coach Chip Kelly — and neither one of those guys has even won one Super Bowl.

At least Baltimore Ravens coach John Harbaugh and former New York Giants coach Tom Coughlin could justify their 2015 salaries by virtue of their three combined Super Bowl titles.

WHERE NICK SABAN’S 2015 SALARY RANKS IN THE NFL

COACH TEAM SALARY
Sean Payton New Orleans Saints $8 million
Pete Carroll Seattle Seahawks $8 million
Bill Belichick New England Patriots $7.5 million
Nick Saban Alabama Crimson Tide $7.1 million
Jeff Fisher Los Angeles Rams $7 million
John Harbaugh Baltimore Ravens $7 million
Tom Coughlin New York Giants $7 million#
Chip Kelly Philadelphia Eagles $7 million

* Coughlin (resigned) and Kelly (fired, hired by the San Francisco 49ers) are no longer employed by the Giants and Eagles, respectively.
– All 2015 salary figures via CoachesHotSeat.com

So get used to Saban making at least $8 million a season.

The question is: Does he deserve a raise?

Our answer, in no uncertain terms, is a resounding yes. Here are some reasons.

On-the-field performance

Beginning with the 2008 season, Saban and the Crimson Tide have gone 98-12, the best mark in college football. Boise State has been second-best in the FBS over that span with a 90-16, followed by Ohio State at 89-17. LSU, eighth overall, is second in the SEC at 78-26, according to teamrankings.com.

Going back to 1998, the first year of the BCS, the only schools besides Alabama that have won multiple national titles are LSU, Florida, Florida State and Ohio State, each winning two apiece. (Southern Cal split the 2003 title with LSU and won it the BCS championship in 2004 but had that title stripped.)

Like Saban, Ohio State’s Urban Meyer has won national championships with two schools and now has three titles, but over that stretch, no other FBS coach has won two.

Saban, who trails Bear Bryant in national championships by one, just completed his eighth consecutive season with at least 10 wins.

Recruiting wars

Under Saban, Alabama has had the nation’s top recruiting class for the past six years, according to 247Sports’ Composite Team Rankings. Saban not only is the best coach in his sport, he has also become its best recruiter.

Financial factors

Citing university documents, the New York Times reported last November that Alabama’s athletic department recorded a $33 million profit in 2014, a number that indicates the school can definitely afford Saban’s current salary.

That same report indicates that a campus-wide $50 million capital campaign was exceeded – by $52 million.

Plus, since Saban’s arrival in Tuscaloosa in 2007, Bryant-Denny Stadium’s seating capacity has been expanded to more than 100,000 seats, which has obviously been a revenue boost.

For what it’s worth, Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski, Saban’s equivalent in college basketball, made nearly $10 million in 2011, according to USA Today, though last year the paper listed his salary at $6.043 million as his bonuses slipped. New York Knicks president Phil Jackson is being paid $12 million a year, and his team looks like it will miss the NBA playoffs for the second straight year and extend its championship drought to 43 seasons.

The bottom line is, Saban has earned whatever raise he will eventually get, even if it takes his salary to the $10 million-a-year stratosphere. He is the best coach in college football and is arguably the best leader in all of sports.