(KLFY) — According to a recent study, and multiple social media posts, the top-paid state employee in most states is a football or basketball coach. Of course, Louisiana is one of them.
LSU head football coach Brian Kelly is tied for the fifth-highest paid state employee in the country, with an annual salary of $9.5 million, according to OLBG, a website devoted to online gambling.
Here is a list of the salaries for the top 10 state employees in the country:
| Rank | State | School | Name | Job | Salary |
| 1 | Alabama | Alabama | Nick Saban | Football Coach | $11,700,00 |
| 2 | Georgia | Georgia | Kirby Smart | Football Coach | $11,250,000 |
| 3 | South Carolina | Clemson | Dabo Swinney | Football Coach | $10,500,00 |
| 4 | Kansas | Kansas | Bill Self | Basketball Coach | $10,180,000 |
| 5 | Louisiana | LSU | Brian Kelly | Football Coach | $9,500,000 |
| 5 | Michigan | Michigan St | Mel Tucker | Football Coach | $9,500,000 |
| 5 | Ohio | Ohio St | Ryan Day | Football Coach | $9,500,000 |
| 8 | Texas | Texas A&M | Jimbo Fisher | Football Coach | $9,000,000 |
| 8 | Nebraska | Nebraska | Matt Rhule | Football Coach | $9,000,000 |
| 10 | Kentucky | Kentucky | John Calipari | Basketball Coach | $8,600,000 |
This only reflects what coaches are paid at state schools, but salaries paid by private schools are similar, according to the study. USC football coach Lincoln Riley ($10 million), Duke basketball coach John Scheyer ($9.7 million) and Notre Dame football coach Marcus Freeman ($7.5 million), all private institutions, show that state schools are paying what the market demands for top-level coaches.
It is also true that big-time college sports generates huge sums of money for schools, most of which comes from television contracts. Other revenue sources include ticket sales, sponsorships and booster contributions, but TV provides the bulk of the money generated by college athletic departments.
Here is a list of what college conferences collect each year in television money:
| Conference | Annual Value |
| ACC | $240 million |
| Big 12 | $200 million |
| Big East | $40 million |
| Big Ten | $1.15 billion |
| Mountain West | $45 million |
| Pac 12 | $250 million |
| SEC | $710 million |
The seven states in which the highest-paid state employee is not a coach are the following:
| State | Job | Salary |
| Alaska | Executive Director, Pfc | $379,433 |
| Maine | Clinical Director | $320,869 |
| Montana | President/Chief Executive Officer | $434,720 |
| New Hampshire | Chief Medical Examiner | $255,113 |
| New York | Title Not Disclosed | $975,229 |
| North Dakota | Physician | $589,489 |
| South Dakota | Advanced Professional Work | $728,000 |
