Tennessee’s Josh Heupel is the newest member of college football’s $9 million salary club.

Heupel, the reigning SEC Coach of the Year who led the Volunteers to an 11-2 finish in 2022, has agreed to a contract extension through the 2028 season. According to multiple reports, his salary will jump 45% from the $5 million he earned this past season.

“I am grateful to President (Randy) Boyd, Chancellor (Donde) Plowman, (athletics director) Danny White and all of Vol Nation for their tremendous support,” Heupel said. “Our staff takes great pride in representing the Power T, and it’s something we never take for granted. We will continue to work tirelessly to build a championship program that all of Vol Nation and all VFLs can be proud of.

“Most importantly, our players are the people who deserve all of the credit for our resurgence on Rocky Top. Over the last two years, they believed in us and poured their energy into every single day with hard work, leadership, cohesiveness and consistent habits. I am proud to be their coach.”

Heupel, 44, is 18-8 in two seasons at Tennessee. The Volunteers went 7-6 in 2021 before returning to national prominence this past season, winning their first nine games and beating Alabama for the first time in 16 years.

Heupel took over a Tennessee program reeling after Jeremy Pruitt was fired amid an NCAA investigation. The Volunteers have made five coaching changes since Phillip Fulmer was forced out at the end of the 2008 season, and had not recorded double-digit victories in a season since 2007.

“The results over Josh’s first two seasons speak for themselves,” White said. “He and his staff have energized both our football program and our fanbase with an aggressive brand of football, a competitive culture that creates leaders and a relentless approach to raising the bar every single day.

“Despite a brief period of dormancy, Tennessee never surrendered its status as a college football powerhouse. We just needed an innovative leader like Josh Heupel to reignite the spark. It’s been fun to crash the party, but as Josh said after our Orange Bowl triumph, the best is yet to come.”

Heupel’s $9 million salary for 2023 places him fifth in the SEC behind Alabama’s Nick Saban ($11.1 million), Georgia’s Kirby Smart ($11.25 million), LSU’s Brian Kelly ($9.5 million) and Texas A&M’s Jimbo Fisher ($9.15 million).