Nick Saban's retirement started a chain reaction that led to millions of dollars in raises for coaches at other schools

Salary in 2023: $4.2 million

Likely new salary: At least $10 million

Kalen DeBoer is tasked with replacing the legendary Saban and taking over an Alabama football program that has won 18 national championships.

DeBoer has only been a head coach in major college football since 2020. He spent two years at Fresno State, making about $1.3 million per season. He then moved to the University of Washington, where this season, he led the program to the College Football Playoff for the first time since 2016. According to USA Today, he made $4.2 million this past season.

Details of DeBoer's new contract with Alabama have not been made public yet. However, the Seattle Times reported that he turned down a contract offer from Washington that would have been worth $9.4 million a year. Therefore, college football insiders speculate that his new salary at Bama will more than double to something north of $10 million annually.

If accurate, DeBoer will jump from the 44th highest-paid coach in college football to one of the top five. Not bad for somebody who, as recently as 2019, was making $800,000 a year as an assistant coach.

Salary in 2023: $3.3 million

New salary: $7.5 million

Washington hired Jedd Fisch after DeBoer left for Alabama.

Fisch was the head coach at the University of Arizona, making about $3.3 million a year for the last three seasons. Before that, he was a longtime assistant coach in the NFL and the college ranks, most recently as the quarterbacks coach under Bill Belichick with the New England Patriots in 2020.

According to King5 in Seattle, Fisch's salary will more than double this year to $7.5 million. He was the 54th highest-paid coach in college football this past season and will jump up to about 15th.

With the school moving to the Big Ten conference this year, Washington can afford to give Fisch a salary much bigger than his predecessor's. The school's revenue will jump, thanks in large part to the more lucrative TV contract in the Big Ten compared to the Pac-12.

Salary in 2023: $2.3 million

New salary: $2.7 million

Replacing Fisch at Arizona is former San Jose State head football coach Brent Brennan.

In 2023, Brennan was the 67th highest-paid coach in college football, making $2.3 million a year. According to ESPN, his raise will be more modest this season than those of DeBoer and Fisch, jumping to $2.7 million. However, his salary is expected to increase to $3.6 million over the next five years, and he also has a chance to earn up to $1.2 million each year with performance bonuses built into the contract.

When Brennan was hired by San Jose State in 2017, his salary was $575,000.

Likely salary in 2023: Less than $1 million

Likely new salary: At least $2.3 million

The final head coaching domino to fall came when San Jose State hired Ken Niumatalolo as their new head football coach.

Niumatalolo most recently served as an assistant coach and advisor to Chip Kelly at UCLA. His salary details have not been announced yet, but ESPN reports it is a 5-year contract.

We can't be certain how much of a raise Niumatalolo will get with his new job. However, the salaries of UCLA assistant coaches range from $310,000 to $1 million. We also know his predecessor at San Jose State made $2.3 million annually. That is also comparable to Niumatalolo's salary in his final season as the longtime head coach at the Naval Academy.

While the head coaching changes due to Saban's retirement are the most notable, many assistants will also benefit financially.

Those salaries will vary by school and role. However, when a head coach signs with a new school, he often brings along many of his assistants from his previous school, and a move up the college football ranks to a school with more revenue typically comes with a bigger salary.

At Alabama, two of DeBoer's top assistants served the same role with him at Washington. More may follow as he fills out his staff.