Kalen DeBoer may have a long way to go to step out of Nick Saban’s shadow, but he is now guaranteed to surpass Saban in one area: Salary.

Alabama gave DeBoer a seven-year contract extension that will pay the coach $12.5 million this year. That’s more than the $11.1 million Saban earned during his final season in 2023 — when he was the highest-paid coach in college football.

DeBoer’s first two seasons have led to some angst in the Alabama fan base and talk of a hot seat. Athletic director Greg Byrne’s contract extension seeks to quiet that talk: DeBoer’s previous contract called for Alabama to owe him 90 percent of the remaining value of the contract if it fired him without cause. Assuming that remains the case for this contract, Bryne is doubling down on his belief that DeBoer is the right man for the job.

DeBoer, 51, was hired to replace the retired Saban and earned $10.8 million in his first season, with his contract calling for raises of $125,000 per year through 2031.

Alabama’s first two seasons under DeBoer have been modestly successful: 9-4 his first season, missing the College Football Playoff; 11-4 his second season, making the CFP quarterfinals, where the Crimson Tide lost to eventual champion Indiana.

Saban coached Alabama to six national championships, most recently during the 2020 season, and in his final season had the Crimson Tide in the CFP semifinals, the final year of the four-team playoff. When he retired, Byrne went outside the Saban coaching tree and the Alabama family to hire DeBoer, who had just coached Washington to the national championship game.

DeBoer’s new contract takes him through the end of the 2032 season, ending on Jan. 31, 2033.

“We are pleased to extend Coach DeBoer and are proud to have him leading the Crimson Tide football program,” Byrne said in a statement. “He is an excellent coach and has done a commendable job developing our student-athletes.”

Alabama hauled in the nation’s No. 2-ranked high school recruiting class for the 2026 cycle, continuing in the Saban tradition. But the Crimson Tide also lost key pieces in the transfer portal, and the portal class did not rank among the top 25 in The Athletic’s rankings. DeBoer said in late January that he expected his team to be relatively young again, perhaps setting the expectations a bit lower once more. Now he has a new contract that would seem to give him more leeway, though Alabama, like any SEC school, isn’t exactly hurting for money.

“This University has become a special place to us, and I look forward to working to ensure that Alabama football remains at the forefront of college football,” DeBoer said in a statement. “This program has a long history of success and an unmatched tradition that I was eager to be a part of two years ago, and I cannot wait to keep coaching our guys and bring more championships to Alabama.”

Alabama also announced a contract extension for men’s basketball coach Nate Oats, also through the end of the 2031-32 season. Oats’ previous deal was set to expire after the 2029-30 season and pay him $6.02 million this year. His salary was increased to $6.275 million this year, with gradual increases to $7.25 million by the end of the deal.

Oats, 51, has led Alabama to five Sweet 16 appearances since being hired in 2019, including a Final Four two years ago.

This article originally appeared in The Athletic