That’s rich: ACC joins the $4 million coach club

7:47 AM ET

AMELIA ISLAND, Fla. — For years, ACC coaches could only watch as their counterparts in other conferences cashed paychecks that grew bigger after every championship. Or every 10-win season for that matter.

Not anymore. Four ACC coaches are now in the $4 million club. Last year, that club belonged exclusively to Florida State coach Jimbo Fisher. But Clemson coach Dabo Swinney recently has joined, more than quadrupling the $800,000 salary he got when he was first hired in 2008. Louisville coach Bobby Petrino got a raise to over $4 million too. Miami coach Mark Richt? Well, he already was making $4 million at Georgia, in a conference that set a benchmark nobody else has been able to reach.

Dabo Swinney has more than quadrupled the $800,000 salary he got when he was first hired by Clemson in 2008. AP Photo/Richard Shiro

As it stands, nine SEC coaches make $4 million or more. But the four $4 million coaches in the ACC puts the conference in line with the Big Ten, which also has four. Though the gap remains large, it has closed significantly. And that is a necessary step for a league that has really placed an emphasis on improving its football brand.

“Schools are continuing to make an investment in football,” Clemson athletic director Dan Radakovich said. “They see that’s where the revenue is and want to make sure that we’re continuing to be competitive in the marketplace.”

ACC athletic directors are well aware of what is happening in the marketplace. Radakovich said he wanted to be sure the school was giving Swinney his “market worth.” The raise Swinney got in 2014 put him at $3.15 million, which still ranked him among the highest paid coaches in the country. But in just two …

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