It’s a fascinating question, perfect for contract extension season.

If you had $50 million to spend on the 14 SEC head coaches, how would you spend it? On the surface, that might sound like a lot of money. But when you realize Nick Saban is taking up a good chunk of that, it’s really not a lot of cash for a bunch of successful coaches.

Part of this game involves 2018 performance. A big part, really. You can’t win 2 games and expect to be worthy of $5 million. The way I determined this was that it was indeed merit-based, but there were other factors that went into it. As in, how many people could have similar success and if a coach were involved in rebuilding a big market program.

Again, it’s a fascinating question and I’m really not sure it’s one that I came up with a logical answer to.

Well, let’s spread out $50 million anyway.

Alabama, Nick Saban: $14 million

There’s no question that Saban is worth every penny he earns. He was underpaid at $7.5 million this season. I probably would’ve given him $25 million if not for the blowback I’d get for such limited salaries elsewhere. But the guy is the best in the business and in my opinion, he’s the best of all-time. Whatever compensation record exists in the sport, Saban deserves all of that and more. What he’s done for the SEC brand since his arrival in 2007 can’t be overstated. Saban is a steal at $14 million.

Now, because we’re up against a cap and we almost doubled Saban’s salary, others might not like the rest of this quite as much.

Arkansas, Chad Morris: $500,000

You know, $500,000 a year isn’t a bad living. Jim McElwain is making close to that at Central Michigan (which is less than his Florida buyout money). Morris essentially led a Group of 5 program this year. Then again, going 1-2 against Group of 5 schools doesn’t suggest he’s worth even top-flight Group of 5 money. Needless to say, I’m in wait-and-see mode until I’m willing to give Morris a raise.

Auburn, Gus Malzahn: $2.5 million

Malzahn’s salary is low because with that talent, I think a lot of people could have done what he did. Winning 7 games with that much NFL talent certainly didn’t put Malzahn into the “elite” category. If Malzahn were only making $2.5 million, he would have been fired yesterday. It’s a good thing that Malzahn got 75 percent of that contract extension guaranteed. “One, two, three no take-backs!”

Florida, Dan Mullen: $4 million

I realize that $4 million is less than what Mullen makes, so understand that this isn’t my way of saying he’s overpaid. Nearly everyone on this list got less from me than they do from their school. Mullen is actually tied for third in terms of this list because he’s rebuilding a major program that’s a national brand. The fact that he took it to a New Year’s 6 Bowl in Year 1 was proof that he was worthy of his paycheck.

Georgia, Kirby Smart: $6 million

This isn’t really far off from what Smart is actually making ($7 million), so it’s telling that a limited budget would pay him as much as loaded UGA boosters. Smart once again kept his team in the Playoff hunt all year and provided several marquee matchups for the conference, including a thrilling SEC Championship. He’s running one of the top 2-3 biggest brands in the SEC and probably one of the top 5 brands in all of college football. He’s worth the dough.

Kentucky, Mark Stoops: $4 million

Again, this is where the “how many people could have done what he did” thing comes into play. In the past 4 decades, nobody did what Stoops did at Kentucky. That is, beat Florida and finish with a winning record in conference play. One of the top stories of the year in college football was watching the Cats play in a division title game. And even though they didn’t win it, the SEC’s second-longest tenured coach and 2018 Coach of the Year is indeed worthy of elite money (by these standards).

LSU, Ed Orgeron: $4 million

Here’s the crazy thing. Orgeron only makes $3.5 million annually. Yes, he’s due for a big raise, and not just here. The guy clinched consecutive 9-win seasons in the toughest division in college football, he beat 6 ranked teams since taking over and he led LSU to its first New Year’s 6 Bowl of the Playoff era. Orgeron is on the same level as Mullen and Stoops, both of whom are also pushing for that all-important 10th win.

Mississippi State, Joe Moorhead: $2.5 million

Yes, I’m taking a whopping $10,000 off Moorhead’s yearly salary. Moorhead is lower on this list in part because this was his first year at a Power 5 program, and also because he’s still got to prove that he can win with his own recruits in this region of the country. Do I believe he’ll do that? Absolutely, but he won’t be a national name until that happens.

Mizzou, Barry Odom: $2.5 million

Mizzou just extended his contract and raised his salary to $3.05 million. But our salary is more than he made in 2018. Well deserved, too, after leading Mizzou to an 8-win regular season. He did so despite the fact that he lost offensive coordinator Josh Heupel. The defense improved and Odom was actually shockingly close to having 10 wins right now. No, that didn’t happen, but he’s worth middle-of-the-pack money after rebuilding that program in the post-Gary Pinkel era.

Ole Miss, Matt Luke: $1 million

I give Luke a lot of credit. He had to motivate a team that was banned from the postseason each of the past 2 seasons. That couldn’t have been easy. But the Rebels haven’t exactly added to the SEC’s reputation in the past couple years. Ole Miss only won 1 conference game, and it hasn’t been national television fixtures the way others have. Luke was considered the cheap replacement for Hugh Freeze, and he’ll have to deliver a significant step up in 2019 to show that he’s the long-term guy.

South Carolina, Will Muschamp: $2 million

I give more credit to coaches who have their teams competing for division titles late in the season. Muschamp looked all but eliminated from that in Week 2. It certainly took the wind out of South Carolina’s sail after an offseason of optimism. Muschamp still has the Gamecocks in much better shape than where Steve Spurrier left them in the middle of 2015, but I’d argue he’s not worthy of being compensated like a top-25 coach.

Tennessee, Jeremy Pruitt: $2 million

If I were betting on one salary to increase on this list in the next few years, it’d be Pruitt’s. He showed promise in Year 1 with upset victories at Auburn and against Kentucky. But the Vols are still a reclamation progress that’s working to get back to the postseason. Pruitt is the face of one of the sport’s biggest brands, which he looks capable of being, but someone with 1 year of head coaching experience isn’t quite into the upper echelon of SEC money just yet.

Texas A&M, Jimbo Fisher: $3.5 million

I’m not giving Fisher a blank check like Scott Woodward until I see him turn A&M into a legitimate division contender. As encouraging as it was to see Fisher beat LSU and go 3-1 in November, expectations are sky-high in Aggieland. To win there is to get A&M into the top 10 and playing in late-season games with Playoff implications. A good, not great team yields some good, not great compensation for now.

Vanderbilt, Derek Mason: $1.5 million

Does Mason have a statue yet? I feel like earning multiple bowl berths at Vandy is worthy of such an honor. Before I get Commodores fans too riled up, let me say this about Mason. He’s a tremendous face of the program. His players graduate and he stands for the right things. If I had kids who played football, I’d send them to Mason in a heartbeat. But ultimately, we’re still talking about a program that doesn’t move the needle for the SEC just by winning 6 games. As a result, Mason’s pay is near the bottom of this list.