Who's making what at Rutgers? Here's a peek at athletics department payroll

By Keith Sargeant | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

The first thing that's evident upon analyzing the top salary-earners in Rutgers athletics is this:

It pays to be a football coach.

Of the 20 highest-paid Rutgers athletics employees in 2017, half of them coached football.

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Photo by John Munson | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

But the highest-paid Rutgers athletics employee had no affiliation with football.

It was Steve Pikiell, the Scarlet Knights’ second-year men’s basketball coach, whose $2.13 million salary was approximately $5,000 more than Rutgers football coach Chris Ash’s 2017 total gross pay.

NJ Advance Media obtained salary information for Rutgers' entire 26,000-person workforce through an Open Public Records Act request through the university.

The salary database revealed Rutgers' nearly 250-person athletics staff earned a total of slightly more than $23 million in 2017 — which was a 2 percent increase from what Rutgers paid its athletics employees in 2016.

Including Hall of Fame women’s basketball coach C. Vivian Stringer — who drew $919,010 in 2017 — the head coaches for Rutgers’ three marquee sports all earned more than university President Robert Barchi's $808,546 gross salary.

Here's a look at Rutgers' top 20 salary earners in 2017:

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1. Steve Pikiell (men's basketball head coach)

While Pikiell’s guaranteed compensation for the final nine months of 2017 was $1.5 million, his $2,131,446 gross salary was the second-highest total for a Rutgers employee behind Dr. Robert Heary, the director for the New Jersey Medical School’s Center for Spine Surgery and Mobility, who earned $2.9 million.

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In January, Pikiell signed a three-year extension worth $8.85 million in additional base salary and guaranteed compensation. While his base salary for 2017 remained the same, he received a $100,000 retention bonus after executing the agreement that should keep him at Rutgers through the 2022-23 season.

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Here are the contract details for Pikiell's Rutgers extension

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Photo by Andrew Mills | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

2. Chris Ash (football head coach)

Based on annual guaranteed salaries, Ash figures to be the highest-ranked Rutgers athletics employee for years to come. But his $2,126,088 gross salary trailed Pikiell's and ranked third among university employees overall.

After leading the Scarlet Knights to a two-win improvement in his second season last fall, Ash signed a new five-year contract stretching through the 2022 season. Before bonuses, Ash is set to earn $2.2 million this year.

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Here are the new contract details for Ash

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3. C. Vivian Stringer (women's basketball head coach)

In 2016, Stringer was the fourth-highest paid employeer behind Ash and two professors associated with the Rutgers medical school. In 2017, she ranked 23rd overall and third among athletics employees at $919,010.

That salary was a slight decrease from his 2016 gross income ($935,767).

Last October, Stringer signed a four-year contract extension that will guarantee $3.4 million in salary from the university through the 2020-21 season.

While her current base salary is $775,000, she is set to receive a $50,000 raise on July 1.

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Here are the new contract details for Stringer

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Photo by John Munson | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

Pat Hobbs (athletics director)

With a salary of $647,627, Hobbs was Rutgers' 50th highest-paid employee last year.

Last October, he received a contract extension. His original contract called for a guaranteed base salary of $560,000. In 2016, Hobbs earned his maximum $50,000 bonus and grossed nearly $607,000, according to the university’s salary records.

His current $615,000 base salary increases $10,000 on July 1. In addition, Rutgers will annually credit Hobbs $100,000 in deferred compensation for each year of the contract, for as long as he’s employed as the AD.

According to the website SportsInfo.pro, in 2016-17 the average salary for the 14 Big Ten ADs was $692,980.

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Here are the details on Hobbs' new contract

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5. Jerry Kill (football assistant)

Kill, who retired due to health reasons in late December, earned $645,000 during his one season as Rutgers' offensive coordinator.

His successor, John McNulty, signed a three-year, $1.875 million deal that includes a $600,000 base salary in 2018.

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6. Jay Niemann (football assistant)

The Rutgers defensive coordinator earned $455,887 in 2017, a $12,000 increase from his Year 1 salary.

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Here are the contract details for McNulty

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Photo by Andrew Mills | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

7. A.J. Blazek (football assistant)

After turning down overtures to coach elsewhere following his first season, Blazek was given an “assistant head coach’’ title to go along with his duties as offensive line coach. The promotion came with a significant raise from his original $240,000 annual salary.

In 2017, Blazek’s base salary was $325,000 and he ended up earning $318,841 because the new contract wasn’t executed until March 2017.

In 2018, Blazek is set to earn $350,000.

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8. Karl Hobbs (men's basketball assistant)

Hobbs, the former George Washington head coach who is Pikiell's top bench coach, earned $318,238 in 2017.

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9. Brandin Knight (men's basketball assistant)

Knight, who just completed his second season on Pikiell's staff, earned $299,425 in 2017.

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10. Bill Busch (football assistant)

Busch, who relinquished his role as Rutgers' defensive backs coach to take a position as safeties coach at LSU, earned $292,241 in 2017.

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A look at Rutgers' nearly $100M in athletics expenditures in 2016-17

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Photo by John Munson | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

11. Shane Burnham (football assistant)

Burnham, who relinquished his defensive line post to take the same position at UCF in January, earned $270,450 in 2017.

His successor, Corey Brown, signed a two-year deal worth $250,000 annually.

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12. Kenny Parker (football support staff)

Parker, who serves as the Scarlet Knights' strength and conditioning coach for football, earned $264,746 in 2017.

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13. Lester Erb (football assistant)

Erb, who is now Rutgers' wide receivers coach after mentoring the team's running backs last season, earned $231,848 in 2017.

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Video by Keith Sargeant | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

14. Sarah Baumgartner (Deputy Athletics Director)

Baumgartner, a highly regarded fundraiser who was promoted to Deputy AD in June 2016, earned $228,702 in 2017.

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Rutgers' four-year financial forecast

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Andrew Mills | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

15. Vince Okruch (football assistant)

Okruch, who serves as Rutgers' special teams coach while also mentoring the team's tight ends, earned $227,943 in 2017.

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16. Jay Young (men's basketball assistant)

Young, who joined the Rutgers staff after previously working under Pikiell at Stony Brook, earned $207,116 in 2017.

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Video by John Munson | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

17. Scott Goodale (wrestling head coach)

In 2017, the Scarlet Knights' highly successful wrestling coach earned $191,298.

Since taking over the Rutgers wrestling program, Goodale has guided the Scarlet Knights to a 161-62-1 dual-match record while producing eight All-Americans, two conference champs, a national runner-up and 64 NCAA Championship qualifiers in his 11 years.

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18. Jafar Williams (football assistant)

Williams, who left as Rutgers' wide receivers coach to return to his alma mater, Maryland, in late January, earned $187,420 in 2017.

Nunzio Campanile, the former Bergen Catholic head coach who was hired to serve as running backs coach after Williams left, signed a one-year deal worth $215,000.

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A look at Hobbs' notable hires

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Photo by Noah Murray | Rutgers Athletics

19. Brian Brecht (men's lacrosse head coach)

Brecht, who has built Rutgers into a top-10 national program in his seventh season as coach, earned $177,289 in 2017.

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20. Kate Hickey (senior associate AD/senior administrator for women's sports)

Hickey, a Rutgers staffer since 1999 who has had oversight of Rutgers' Olympic Sports in addition to leading the program's Title IX efforts, earned $169,452 in 2017.

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Video by Keith Sargeant | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

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Projecting Rutgers wrestling's 2018-19 lineup

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Keith Sargeant may be reached at ksargeant@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @KSargeantNJ. Find NJ.com Rutgers Football on Facebook.

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