While the phrase "highest-paid government job" may bring to mind lobbyists and politicians, the biggest employee paychecks in the United States are actually being cut by state governments, not Washington D.C. Most states have enough in their budget to pay salaries that dwarf any paid by the federal Treasury.

The most lucrative sector of state government is, by far, the public university system. Although the average public college president's annual salary is around $150,000, Gregory Fenves, President of the University of Texas, makes $750,000; the University of Virginia pays its president James Ryan the same amount.

However, those hefty salaries can't hold a candle to those of the best-paid group of state government employees: NCAA football coaches at public schools. Even at New Jersey's Rutgers, (a school whose football team doesn't typically command national attention), head coach Greg Schiano’s total salary for the 2020 season was estimated to be $3,763,336 (after pandemic reduction due to lowered game attendance). Schiano’s salary pales in comparison to that of his peers; highly competitive football schools pay far more. Thanks to a bonus, Alabama Crimson Tide coach Nick Saban earned over $11 million in 2017, making him the highest-paid public employee in the country that year. (He was down to just $8.3 million as of 2020.)

*By comparison, the office of the President pays a mere $400,000 a year, plus four years rent-free in decent accommodations.

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