UNLV Athletics made Dan Mullen the highest-paid coach in Silver State and Mountain West history last week by signing the football coach to a five-year, $17.5 million contract that will pay him $3.5 million per season. Here’s a look at the 15 highest-paid coaches in Nevada state history.

1. Dan Mullen, UNLV football, $3.5 million: UNLV broke the cap for Silver State coaches by giving Mullen double the salary of the previous cap. Mullen had a strong 13-year head coaching career in the SEC with stints at Mississippi State (69-46 in nine seasons) and Florida (34-15 in five seasons) before most recently working as a commentator for ESPN. UNLV will expect championship-level success every year because of this historic investment in coaching.

2. Barry Odom, UNLV football, $1.75 million: Odom served as Missouri’s low-profile coach for four years from 2016 to 2019, going 25-25 overall and 13-19 in the SEC before being fired. He was Arkansas’ defensive coordinator at the time before UNLV moved him away from that job. It was a huge success as Odom went 19-8 overall and 12-3 in the MW and led the school to back-to-back conference championship games, with UNLV finishing in the top 25 for the first time this season. He was poached from Purdue earlier this month.

3. Marcus Arroyo, UNLV football, $1.5 million: UNLV has broken the bank with its last three football coaches hired, who rank 1-2-3 on this list. Arroyo, then Oregon’s offensive coordinator, received a five-year, $7.7 million contract but stayed at UNLV for just three seasons, each with an improved win total. He led the Rebels from 0-6 to 2-10 and to 5-7 and helped recruit some of the talent that Odom had used to great success over the past two seasons.

4. Steve Alford, Nevada basketball, $1.3 million: Alford, the highest-paid Wolf Pack coach of all time, is six seasons into the 10-year, $11.6 million contract he agreed to in April 2019. This contract began with Alford receiving consecutive salaries of $500,000 before increasing to $1.15 million in 2021. His contract will increase by $50,000 annually from then on, with a maximum value of $1.5 million -Dollar in 2028-29, although he could be due for a new contract in the near future and has achieved a record of 104-62.

5. TJ Otzelberger, UNLV basketball, $1.2 million: UNLV handed Otzelberger a five-year, $6.5 million contract that paid him $1.2 million in his second season before he left the Rebels for Iowa State. Otzelberger went 29-30 in two seasons at UNLV, earning $2.3 million, before getting an even bigger deal from the Cyclones, who are currently ranked in the top five in the country. At Iowa State, Otzelberger is 79-36 and has Sweet 16 berths in 2022 and 2024.

6. Lon Kruger, UNLV basketball, $1.1 million: Kruger became the first coach in state history to break the $1 million mark. The former NBA coach is the only man to lead four schools to the Sweet 16, doing so at UNLV in 2007. He posted a 161-71 record with four NCAA Tournament appearances and two NITs in seven seasons at UNLV. Kruger was eventually poached by Oklahoma’s big players, and UNLV hasn’t been the same since, as its current NCAA Tournament drought stands at 11 seasons.

7. Jeff Choate, Nevada football, $1.05 million: Choate became Nevada’s first $1 million football coach when he hired out of Texas, where he served as co-defensive coordinator. However, when he was hired a year ago, he was only ranked 11th out of 12 MW schools. Choates’ salary will increase by $50,000 per year, reaching $1.25 million in 2028, the final year of his five-year contract. Choate is the third $1 million coach in Wolf Pack athletics history.

8. Eric Musselman, Nevada basketball, $1 million: After two seasons at the bargain price of $400,000 per season, Musselman became the Wolf Pack’s first $1 million coach. He had a record-breaking four-year tenure at Nevada, earning 110 wins, four MW titles and three NCAA Tournament berths, including a Sweet 16 in 2018. He also won the CBI in his first season. The Wolf Pack’s big contract didn’t keep Musselman in town, he went to Arkansas and is now in his first year at USC.

9. Ken Wilson, Nevada football, $950,000: After Jay Norvell left Nevada for Colorado State over concerns about the Wolf Pack’s frugality, Nevada gave his successor a large raise. Wilson was paid $950,000 per year, significantly more than Norvell’s $625,000 per year, although the Wolf Pack attempted to retain Norvell with an offer of $1 million per year. Wilson’s tenure at Nevada did not last long, as he was released after two to ten consecutive seasons, securing a $1 million transfer fee.

10. Rollie Massimino, UNLV basketball, $886,000: The most controversial contract in state history paid Massimino $886,000 a year – few knew that. His approved contract paid him $511,000 per year, but he received an additional $375,000 that was not known to the Nevada Board of Regents. He was cut after two seasons and the contract was used as a scapegoat after a 15-13 season. Massimino won a national title at Villanova, but couldn’t follow in Jerry Tarkanain’s great footsteps.

11. Kevin Kruger, UNLV basketball, $775,000: After Otzelberger left UNLV for Iowa State, the Rebels cut the salary at that position and started Kruger at $750,000 per year, which is now $775,000 this season. While he has a much better record than Otzelberger, currently sitting at 63-44 overall and 29-25 in the MW, Kruger appears to be on the hot seat in his fourth season with the program. UNLV finished fourth, fifth and seventh in the MW in Kruger’s first three years.

12t. Marvin Menzies, UNLV basketball, $700,000: Menzies wasn’t UNLV’s first choice for the job in 2016, as the Rebels tried to lure Mick Cronin from Cincinnati and then hired Chris Beard before he transferred to his alma mater, Texas Tech, a few weeks later. UNLV ultimately chose Menzies, who received a contract that paid him $700,000 in guaranteed money in each of his first three seasons. He was then dismissed with a score of 48:48.

12t. Dave Rice, UNLV basketball, $700,000: Lon Kruger’s successor, Rice, had a good record. At UNLV, he was 98-54, a winning percentage of 64.5, with two NCAA Tournament appearances and three 20-win campaigns in four full seasons. But his teams struggled in the MW, where Rice was 37-32. He was released for three games in conference play in 2015-16 and eventually became an assistant at Nevada. Today he is the head coach at Salt Lake Community College, a top five JuCo program.

12t. Bobby Hauck, UNLV football, $700,000: Hauck became the first football coach in state history to receive $700,000 after being headhunted by Montana (after being fired from UNLV, he returned to Montana as head coach). Hauck went 13-38 in his first four seasons at UNLV before earning the $700,000-per-year extension after a 7-6 bowl season in 2013. The following year he posted a 2-11 record and was released with a career record of 15-49 that included four two-win seasons in five years.

15. Jay Norvell, Nevada Football, $625,000: Norvell earned just $450,000 in his debut season before receiving an extension after two seasons that paid him $625,000 per year. Norvell posted a 33-26 record in five seasons at Nevada, including 23-17 in the MW, before leaving the Wolfpack for Colorado State due to several frustrations, including his salary. In 2024, Norvell led the MW in salary as head coach with the Rams, earning $1.8 million, a figure more than doubled by Mullen.

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Notably, the best basketball coach (Jerry Tarkanian) and football coach (Chris Ault) in state history are not on the list. Tarkanian, who posted a 509-105 record in 19 seasons at UNLV, including four Final Four berths and a national title in 1990, earned a maximum of $600,000 per year. Ault, who led Nevada to a 234-108-1 record in 28 seasons, topped out at $493,000. Also notable is that UNLV has 10 of the 15 spots on the list above.

Sports columnist Chris Murray provides insight into Northern Nevada sports. Contact him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter @ByChrisMurray.