01-07-2025
Tennessee's Danny White highest paid Athletic Director during 2024-25 academic year
Tennessee's Danny White is the highest-paid Athletic Director at a public university in the country, according to the Knox News, part of the USAT TODAY Network.
The Knox News reported that White maxed out his annual $600,000 in bonuses to finish with a total salary of $3.35 million for the 2024-25 academic year. The maxed-out bonuses allowed White to remain the highest-paid AD in the country, based on documents obtained by USA TODAY Network.
Under White's leadership, the Vols appeared in the College Football Playoff, made runs in the NCAA men's and women's basketball tournaments and finished No. 6 in the 2024-25 Learfield Directors' Cup.
Tennessee athletics thrive in 2024-25
The Tennessee football program finished the 2024 season with a 10-3 record and reached the College Football Playoff for the first time in program history. The Vols ended up losing 42-17 to eventual national champion Ohio State. White earned 3% of his base salary for that feat.
Tennessee men's basketball advanced to the Elite Eight, while the women's team advanced to the Sweet 16 in the NCAA basketball tournaments. Both of those payouts were 3% of his base salary.
He gained an additional 9% of his base salary for a Learfield Cup top 10 finish and 5% for Academic Progress Rate high score.
Here's a look at a breakdown of White's bonuses for the 2024-25 academic year, broken down, per the Knox News:
Highest-paid Athletic Directors
White's base salary for the 2024-25 year was $2.75 million. The contract extension he signed last year allowed his bonuses to increase from a maximum of $300,000 to $600,000. In total, he gained incentives of $632,500.
According to the Knox News, Texas AD Chris Del Conte had a similar base salary of $2.525 million, but his bonuses were capped at $250,000. Kirby Hocutt (Texas Tech), Joe Castiglione (Oklahoma), Trev Alberts (Nebraska), Ross Bjork (Ohio State) and Warde Manuel (Michigan) are among the other highest-paid ADs.
