We now have what feels like Exhibit 17 of the market rate being established for the general manager position within major college football, and it's in the neighborhood of $1 million a year.
The latest to net a massive raise is LSU's Austin Thomas. According to Wilson Alexander of the Baton Rouge Advocate, Thomas is set to receive an extension of an unspecified length that will double his salary from $425,000 a year to $850,000.
Alabama reset the market in bringing Courtney Morgan from Washington at $825,000 a year (he's now making $850,000), and sources told FootballScoop in January that USC gave Chad Bowden a multi-year deal worth more than $1 million annually to leave Notre Dame. Jim Nagy got a 3-year deal starting at $750,000 and topping out at $950,000 in 2027 to leave the Senior Bowl for Oklahoma. And North Carolina's Michael Lombardi is believed to be the highest-paid general manager in college football, after getting $1.5 million to leave his media gigs.
LSU football general manager Austin Thomas is getting a new contract a year into his original deal, pending board approval.
— Wilson Alexander (@whalexander_) April 25, 2025
His salary will average $850K over the next three years. He previously made $425K per year, but LSU gave him a raise after the work he did on the roster. pic.twitter.com/X3iTM69Y5r
Thomas, who's official title is senior associate AD for football administration, was among the first in college football to work full-time in talent acquisition and roster management. In fact, he was the first college football staffer to hold the title of general manager, way back in the pre-portal and NIL times of 2016.
A 2008 Lipscomb graduate, he broke in as a defensive quality control coach under Lane Kiffin at Tennessee in 2009, then joined him at USC as assistant director of player personnel. He joined LSU's staff in 2012, and was named by prior winners as FootballScoop's Player Personnel Director of the Year in 2015. He spent 2018-19 as the associate AD for football personnel at Texas A&M, 2020 as the senior associate AD for football at Baylor, and 2021-23 as the football chief of staff and sport administrator at Ole Miss. Thomas returned to LSU in 2024.