COLUMBIA, S.C. — South Carolina Gamecocks football coach Shane Beamer has gotten a big raise that more than doubles his salary.
The University of South Carolina Board of Trustees approved the new five-year, $33 million deal Friday afternoon. Beamer previously had been making $2.75 million a year. It also extends the length of his deal to 2027.
While a significant pay bump, he still trails some of the league’s highest-paid coaches, including Alabama’s Nick Saban ($11.7 million average a year) and Georgia’s Kirby Smart ($11.2 million average a year). Among SEC coaches, he rises from the 13th highest paid to the 10th highest paid. (In case you’re wondering–and many Palmetto State fans do–Clemson’s Dabo Swinney made $10.5 million last year).
Beamer just completed his second season at Carolina which saw the Gamecocks post an 8-5 overall record. Most significantly, the team posted back-to-back wins over top 10 teams for the first time in program history. First, they shocked the college football world with a 63-38 win over fifth-ranked Tennessee The following week, it was arch-rival Clemson’s time to fall to USC, 31-30 up in Clemson.
The victory over the Tigers was their first in the bitter rivalry in nine years. Overall, the Gamecocks are 15-11 in Beamer’s first two years on the job.
The school also approved contracts for a number of assistant coaches, including Special Teams Coordinator Pete Lembo.
Beamer was named the South Carolina coach back on Dec. 6, 2020. Beamer is the son of legendary Virginia Tech Coach Frank Beamer and was born in Charleston, South Carolina when his dad was an assistant coach at The Citadel in the late 70s.
He’d previously been a member of Steve Spurrier’s coaching staff from 2007 to 2010. During his tenure, he helped bring in players such as Alshon Jeffrey, Melvin Ingram, Marcus Lattimore, and Connor Shaw–stars who would go on to lead the program to its first SEC Eastern Division title followed by three straight seasons of 11 wins, a program record.
The board also approved a contract for Lonnie Teasley who goes from interim offensive line coach to full-time in that capacity.
Teasley gets a two-year deal through 2024 and will make $410,000 annually. Greg Adkins, who missed much of the 2022 season with a medical issue is expected to stay on as an analyst.
Defensive backs coach Torrian Gray had already received a raise to $500,000 at the start of this year but earns a three-year extension now where he’ll be making $650,000 in year one, $675,000 in year two and $700,000 in the final year of his new deal.
In other news involving Gamecock assistants, defensive coordinator Clayton White, OLB/Edge Coach Sterling Lucas, defensive line coach Jimmy Lindsey and running backs coach Montario Hardesty receive one-year contract extensions which will keep them under contract through Dec. 31, 2024.
Correction: A previous version of the story contained an incorrect time period for Coach Shane Beamer’s pay in connection with his new contract with the University of South Carolina. The board of trustees approved a new five-year, $33 million (in total) deal. We regret the error.