The Washington Huskies had to open up the checkbook in order to bring Chris Petersen to town. Petersen will earn $3.6 million annually to coach UW, making him the highest-paid coach in the Pac-12, according to CBS Sports.
It is worth noting that Steve Sarkisian's new contract numbers at USC have not been reported, so there's a chance he makes more than Petersen moving forward. Sarkisian made nearly $2.6M at Washington last year. Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham was actually the third-highest paid coach in the Pac-12 last year behind Lane Kiffin and Sarkisian, earning just over $2.4 million.
The Huskies paid SEC money to lure Petersen from Boise State. His new deal makes him the 11th-highest paid coach in the country, just behind Charlie Strong at Louisville and ahead of the likes of SEC coaches Steve Spurrier, Mark Richt and Kevin Sumlin. Alabama's Nick Saban makes more than anyone in base salary at just over $5.5 million annually.
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