We finally have some details about the former HC’s deal
When Dino Babers was fired with one game left in the 2023 Syracuse Orange football season, the Orange were putting action behind the words that they wanted to be a competitive football program.
With two years remaining on his deal, Syracuse ended up paying Babers just under $9 million to turn over the keys to another coach. Last week syracuse.com received access to Syracuse’s 2023 tax filings, which contain the salary information of the highest-paid SU employees.
Babers received $13 million total that year and topped the salary list by a wide margin. Paying to eat the final two years of Babers’ deal at a time when the Orange were finishing both JMA Dome renovations and the Lally Complex upgrades demonstrates that Syracuse (and the football boosters) committed to turning the direction of the program around.
Hiring Fran Brown paid off big in year one with a 10-win season and a lot of positive national attention for Syracuse. The Orange stepped up to keep OC Jeff Nixon and while some key players departed via the transfer portal, Syracuse grabbed two intriguing quarterback options and continue to trend upwards in terms of 2026 recruiting.
After Babers, two Syracuse MBB head coaches were next on the compensation list. Jim Boeheim checked in at $2.7 million and Adrian Autry at $1.8 million. According to the calculations by Syracuse.com, Autry would rank 66th among D1 MBB HC’s, and should the Orange fail to turn things around this year, we can better assess what buying out the final years would cost Syracuse……of course let’s just get back to the NCAA Tournament and not worry about that part right?