Report: Lincoln Riley earned $11.5 million in total compensation in 2023

USC coach Lincoln Riley received just over $11.5 million in total compensation during the 2023 calendar year, USA Today’s Steve Berkowitz reported. That marked Riley’s second year with the program.

Riley received a little more than $10.2 million on base compensation, according to a tax form obtained by USA Today, and received $100,000 as bonus and incentive compensation. He also received nearly $1.15 million as “other reportable compensation,” the tax form states. In addition, Riley has a housing loan with a balance of $3.43 million.

Since USC is a private school, Riley’s contract terms are not public. However, the tax form shows a look into his salary after leaving Oklahoma to take over the Trojans in 2022. In addition, it showed the school is still paying former coach Clay Helton as part of his buyout. He received $4.25 million in 2023 and has now gotten over $9.1 million from USC since his departure.

Riley is getting ready for his fourth season at USC after taking over for Helton, and it will be the program’s second as a member of the Big Ten. Under his watch, the Trojans are 26-14 overall and 17-10 in conference play between the Pac-12 and Big Ten. In 2024, USC went 7-6 overall and 4-5 in its first year in the new league.

After the season, Riley and the Trojans made major changes ahead of Year 2 in the Big Ten. The program notably hired a new general manager, luring Chad Bowden away from rival Notre Dame as part of an overhaul of the personnel department. In addition, USC parted ways with director of sports performance Bennie Wylie, who followed Riley from Oklahoma.

Speaking with On3’s J.D. PicKell earlier this offseason, Lincoln Riley shared what he has learned since taking over at USC. He pointed out the progress the program made since he arrived, but also the “challenge” of navigating the Trojans through the current college football landscape.

“Every job and every opportunity is different, and this one is probably as unique as it gets in so many ways,” Riley said. “A lot of what makes USC so special is the kind of school, the academic reputation, obviously the football history doing it in such a unique and cool environment as we have here in Los Angeles. So it’s been fun. It’s been fun taking it over.

“It’s been fun, I think, learning about this place and then obviously we’re doing it in such a unique, kind of transformational time in college football no matter where you’re at. So it’s been a fun challenge.”