Karl Dorrell will make $18 million as Colorado head coach

The Colorado Buffaloes gave Karl Dorrell a nice payday to lure him back to college football.

Dorrell was officially named the new coach at Colorado on Sunday, with the school’s Board of Regents approving a contract that will pay him $18 million over five seasons.

#CU makes the hire of Karl Dorrell as Buffs new coach official. AD Rick George has proposed that CU's Board of Regents approve a five-year deal for Dorrell worth $18 million, in which the first-year salary would be $3.2 million and then increase by $200,000 annually.

— Bruce Feldman (@BruceFeldmanCFB) February 23, 2020

Dorrell will actually make more than former coach Mel Tucker was slated to make in 2020. Tucker made just shy of $2.7 million in his lone season with the Buffaloes, but got a huge raise when moving to Michigan State.

There will be questions about whether Dorrell deserves the payday, but Colorado was in a tough spot with a coaching search at this time of year and probably had to offer a good chunk of money to get people to listen. It’s unfortunate for them, but it’s what they had to do.