LSU Baseball Coach Jay Johnson Gaining On Kim Mulkey In Salary

GLENN GUILBEAU, Tiger Rag Editor

LSU baseball coach Jay Johnson, who has won two national championships in his first four seasons, is expected to receive a raise on Friday that draws him close to LSU women’s basketball coach Kim Mulkey for the No. 2 salary position among LSU coaches.

Johnson, 48, just won the 2025 national crown last June and will receive a raise from his $1.67 million yearly salary over last season to $3.05 million next season, making him the highest paid college baseball coach in the country. That is part of a new seven-year contract that will pay him $23.45 million through the 2032 season for an average $3.35 million a year, if it gains expected approval by the LSU Board of Supervisors in their meeting on Friday.

The new contract’s details are included in the agenda released this week for that board meeting.

Mulkey, 63, won LSU’s first basketball national championship – male or female – in the 2022-23 season in her second year after winning three at Baylor. She made $3.25 million last season and is scheduled to make $3.35 million in the 2025-26 season. That is part of what was a new 10-year, $36 million contract that she received in the fall of 2023 after winning the title, which made her the highest paid women’s college basketball coach in the country.

Mulkey’s average salary per year in the contract is $3.6 million. Johnson is expected t make $3.65 million in the last year of his contract in 2032. Mulkey is schedule to make $4.05 million in the last year of her deal in the 2032-33 season.

Both trail LSU football coach Brian Kelly by a lot. Kelly made $9.75 million last year for No. 8 in college football in salary. He is scheduled to top $10 million in the current season, not counting various insentives. Kelly signed a 10-year contract for $95 million when he left Notre Dame for LSU after the 2021 season.

LSU coach Brian Kelly’s win at No. 4 Clemson just got bigger. @KimMulkey gives a thumbs up:https://t.co/yxt6D1VMDK

— Glenn Guilbeau (@SportBeatTweet) September 3, 2025

The Tigers are 1-0 on the season and ranked No. 3 in the nation after upsetting No. 4 Clemson at Clemson on Saturday. LSU hosts Louisiana Tech (1-0) on Saturday in Tiger Stadium (6:30 p.m., ESPN+, SEC Network+).

LSU men’s basketball coach Matt McMahon is the fourth highest paid coach on the LSU campus at $2.8 million a year for this upcoming season, making him the lowest paid men’s coach in the Southeastern Conference.

LSU baseball recruiting coordinator Josh Jordan and director of baseball operations Josh Simpson are also slated to receive raises – Jordan from $310,000 a year to $485,000 a year and Simpson from $205,000 a year to $255,000 a year.