Cook County’s 3,804 coaches earned an average salary of $90,908 in 2024, according to the U.S. Department of Education.
This is the fourth highest average salary per county earned by coaches at Illinois post-secondary schools during 2024.
Cook County is home to 27 post-secondary schools that paid coaches during 2024. Among them, Northwestern University stood out with the highest average coaching salary of $597,585.
Male coaches of men’s teams received $113,899 on average in Cook County, while female coaches in charge of women’s teams earned an average of $64,066.
College football is one of the biggest sports in the U.S., with some college teams eclipsing NFL teams in terms of attendance and profit.
College athletes can now be paid directly by schools after a settlement approved in early July, which also requires the NCAA to pay $2.8 billion in back damages over 10 years to athletes who played from 2016 to the present.Â
In 2022, after years of legal and legislative pressure, athletes also gained the right to profit from their names, images and likenesses through state laws and an NCAA policy change.
| Institution | Salary |
|---|---|
| Northwestern University | $597,585 |
| DePaul University | $271,647 |
| Loyola University Chicago | $192,511 |
| University of Illinois Chicago | $116,410 |
| University of Chicago | $89,931 |
| Chicago State University | $64,865 |
| Roosevelt University | $52,347 |
| Concordia University-Chicago | $42,016 |
| Trinity Christian College | $41,925 |
| Saint Xavier University | $41,240 |
Information in this story was obtained from the U.S. Department of Education. The source data can be found here.
