In December 1999, Saban accepted the head coaching job at LSU on a five-year contract worth about $1.2 million annually.

At the time, Saban joined Florida State’s Bobby Bowden, Florida’s Steve Spurrier, and Tennessee’s Phillip Fulmer as the only college football coaches making over $1 million per year.

Over the next five seasons, Saban would deliver LSU two SEC Championships and defeated the Oklahoma Sooners to win the 2003 BCS National Championship game. The following February, Saban signed a seven-year contract extension starting at $2.3 million per year from LSU.