For the second time in the past 18 months, the contract of Alabama athletics director Greg Byrne was extended with a raise.
It was a significant raise to $1.3 million in the 2019-20 school year with $40,000 more every year in the contract extended one year through 2026. The salary will be $1.54 million in the final year of the contract as approved Tuesday by the compensation committee of Alabama’s board of trustees.
Byrne's old deal paid him $980,000 this year with the salary to rise to $1.13 million in the final year of 2024-25. That was approved in August 2018.
The contract also calls for deferred compensation directed toward retirement plans starting at $300,000 in the first year and escalating to $450,000 a year in 2026.
The amended deal also forgives the balance of an interest-free $400,000 loan paid to Byrne in the original contract for relocating from Arizona to Tuscaloosa.
When additional university compensation is combined, Byrne’s 2018 total pay of $1.25 million ranked eighth among athletic directors, according to sportsinfo.pro.
Byrne was hired to replace Bill Battle in March 2017 after serving in the same role at Arizona and Mississippi State. The original employment contract paid Byrne $900,000.
Battle, when hired in 2013, was paid $620,000 in his initial contract with the school.
Michael Casagrande is an Alabama beat writer for the Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @ByCasagrande or on Facebook.