Even though Notre Dame Fighting Irish fell short in the end, Marcus Freeman delivered a 2024 season that will be remembered for years. The Irish head coach not only exceeded expectations on the field but also outperformed the value of his previous contract. After the latest tax records were revealed, it became clear that Notre Dame had no problem paying a premium to keep one of college football’s rising stars leading the program.

Notre Dame released its financial tax documents for the 2024-25 academic year, showing that Freeman was the highest-paid employee at the university. He earned a total of $8,137,948 during the reporting period from July 1, 2024, to June 30, 2025. This season was Freeman’s third year as head coach, and his success helped increase both his reputation and salary.

The documents also showed that Freeman’s contract numbers are already old because he agreed to a contract extension in December 2024 and later signed another new deal in December 2025. Sources say his newest contracts are believed to pay him more than $10 million per year. The report gives fans a closer look at how much top college football programs are willing to spend to stay successful and compete at the highest level.

 

Freeman’s salary was divided into different parts. His base salary was $6,693,508, while bonuses and incentives added another $600,000. He also received $779,180 in other reportable compensation, plus retirement and deferred payments worth $34,500. On top of that, he received $30,760 in nontaxable benefits. His salary has continued to rise every year since becoming head coach.

In 2022-23, he earned $6,687,754. That number rose to $7,421,201 during the 2023-24 academic year before climbing to more than $8.1 million for the 2024-25 period.

Notre Dame’s assistant coaches also got paid very well. Offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock earned $2,491,462 in his first season back with the program. According to coaching salary reports, that would have made him the second-highest-paid assistant coach in the country, trailing only to Blake Baker of LSU.

Defensive coordinator Al Golden earned $2,331,882 in his final season with the team, which was a major increase from the previous year when he made about $1.67 million.

The tax forms also revealed details about men’s basketball coach Micah Shrewsberry, who earned $2,308,840.

However, the university noted that both Freeman and Shrewsberry are allowed to make additional money from outside business deals and sponsorships that are not included in the reported totals. This means both coaches likely earned more than the salaries listed in the documents, easily.

Notre Dame’s extended compensation details

Pete Bevacqua officially became the full-time athletic director at Notre Dame on March 25, 2024. Before him, Jack Swarbrick served in the role until March 24, 2024. During the same reporting period, Rev. Robert Dowd also became the university’s new president, replacing Rev. John Jenkins.

The tax documents also revealed details about compensation plans for both Bevacqua and Swarbrick. Both men were part of non-qualified deferred compensation agreements, which are special payment plans that allow money to be paid out later. According to the forms, Bevacqua received an accrued benefit of $300,000, while Swarbrick received an accrued benefit of $200,000 as part of those agreements.

The documents explained that these benefits and related earnings become fully available once the terms of the plans are completed. The forms also noted that Swarbrick received a total accrued benefit and related earnings worth $650,619, which became taxable during the 2024 calendar year because his plan reached the end of its term. These details give a better understanding of how top university officials are compensated beyond their regular salaries.

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