Washington isn’t alone in having the top-paid public employee in the state shake out to be a coach. A few are basketball coaches — one is a hockey coach — but only 11 states pay a non-coaching public employee more than anyone else in the state.
OLYMPIA — College coaches are the top-paid state employees in Washington, according to a list recently released by the state Office of Financial Management.
University of Washington football coach Steve Sarkisian earned $2.7 million last year, followed by Washington State University football coach Mike Leach at $2.3 million. Third on the list is UW basketball coach Lorenzo Romar at $1.35 million, and fourth is WSU coach Ken Bone at $855,000.
Coaches are paid from athletic department revenue, such as ticket sales and television rights or gifts, not taxpayer funds.