Prep Grid Coaches’ Pay Outruns Teachers

Head football coaches at high schools at Texas’ top two levels of play make about $54,000 a year - nearly 75 percent more than the $31,000 average for teachers at those schools, an Associated Press review found.

The best-paid teachers in the 238 districts analyzed made an average of about $44,000. Many of them have master’s degrees and 30 years’ experience.

It is just one example of a widespread salary discrepancy between teachers and coaches in Texas, where high school football approaches religion.

Texas coaches attribute their higher pay to several factors: the extended work year (about 32 days more than teachers’), long hours at practice and games (about 80 hours a week, according to some), extra duties as athletic directors and the pressure to succeed.