Hugh Freeze is the 20th highest-paid coach in college football, according to a USA Today database of salaries for Division I head coaches released Tuesday.

AL.com previously reported Freeze’s six-year contract with Auburn will pay him $6.5 million per year on average, the same figure displayed in USA Today’s spreadsheet.

That salary is the ninth-most among SEC head coaches. Alabama’s Nick Saban is again the nation’s highest-paid head coach with a salary above $11 million. Georgia’s Kirby Smart, Texas A&M’s Jimbo Fisher, Kentucky’s Mark Stoops, Tennessee’s Josh Heupel, and Ole Miss’ Lane Kiffin all have salaries among the top 10 most in America.

Kiffin, who was reported to be a candidate for the Auburn head coaching job before hiring Freeze, is being paid $2.5 million more than Freeze this year.

Freeze can receive a maximum bonus this year of up to $3.3 million. Based on a previous AL.com analysis of Freeze’s contract, that bonus would break down to $2 million for winning the national championship, $200,000 for winning the SEC championship, $200,000 for winning the SEC West and $150,000 for each SEC win beginning with Auburn’s fifth of the season. Freeze also has bonuses written into his contract should he be named SEC Coach of the Year or be named the Bryant, Camp, AP, AFCA, ESPN, Eddie Robinson, Bobby Dodd, Sporting News or Maxwell Coach of the Year award.

The contract also includes potential bonuses based on Auburn’s annual academic progress rate, commonly referred to as APR, score. There is a retention bonus of $225,000 that would go into effect on Feb. 1 of each year of the deal, starting in 2024.

Auburn would have to be an undefeated national champion for Freeze to receive his maximum bonus — which he is of course ineligible for with two losses this season so far.

USA Today also lists Freeze’s buyout at $25,187,500 should Auburn fire him without cause before or on Dec. 1, 2023. That is among the top-25 highest buyouts in the country but more than $65 million cheaper than Smart’s roughly $92 million buyout, the highest in America.

That figure comes from the contract including a 75% buyout clause.

The contract also has a buyout clause if Freeze ends the deal on his end, which would equal $5 million if he does before Jan. 31, 2026. That buyout drops by $1 million each year after until it hits $2 million if he gets out of the contract between Feb. 1, 2028, and Jan. 31, 2029.

Matt Cohen covers Auburn sports for AL.com. You can follow him on Twitter at @Matt_Cohen_ or email him at [email protected]