Georgia athletic director discusses progress on contract extension for Kirby Smart
By Sydney Hunte
Published:
Georgia’s first national championship since 1980 will lead to a major payday for head coach Kirby Smart.
Smart is in the midst of a contract that expires at the completion of 2024 and was an extension signed in 2018 to his original pact. With the Bulldogs’ national championship run behind them, though, that means that a much more long-term extension is imminent, according to athletic director Josh Brooks.
“We’re in a situation where you’ve got a coach that wants to be here, an administration that wants him to be here,” he said, according to the Athens-Banner Herald. “It’s just working through the process. It’s not something we put a hard timeline on but we’re in active talks. Talks are going well.”
Smart’s original contract saw him paid $3.75 million initially. Following the Bulldogs’ first trip to the national championship game in 2o17, that figure jumped to $7 million. His latest extension will certainly see that number jump even further, and how much further it goes up with the goal of a national championship achieved will be interesting to see.
Sydney is an Atlanta-based journalist who has covered everything from SEC and ACC football to MLS, the U.S. men's national soccer team and professional tennis. His work has appeared on such platforms as SB Nation, Cox Media Group and FanSided.
