What is Bobby Petrino's Net Worth and Salary?
Bobby Petrino is a football coach who has a net worth of $18 million. Bobby Petrino serves as the offensive coordinator for the Arkansas Razorbacks. Previously, he was the head coach at Missouri State University, the University of Louisville, the University of Arkansas, and Western Kentucky University, and held various assistant coaching positions. Petrino was involved in a scandal in 2012 when he was fired from the University of Arkansas for conducting an extramarital affair with an athletic department staffer.
Salary & Contracts
In July 2006 Bobby signed a 10-year, $25.6 million contract with Louisville. Six months later he signed a 5-year, $24 million contract to coach the NFL's Atlanta Falcons. He only ended up coaching 13 games for the Falcons. After leaving the Falcons he signed a 5-year, $14.25 million contract with the University of Arkansas. This contract was extended to seven years. When he left Arkansas in 2012, amid several mounting controversies, he still went on to earn $18 million from the school. In April 2016 Bobby signed a 7-year, $30.625 million contract with Louisville. Under the deal he made a little over $4 million in average annual salary. In December 2023 Bobby was re-hired by Arkansas under a deal that pays him around $1.6 million per year in salary. The contract also comes with a country club membership, $7,200 car allowance, 8 tickets to every home game and $25,000 in moving expenses/temporary housing.
Early Life and Education
Bobby Petrino was born on March 10, 1961 in Lewistown, Montana and was raised in Helena. He has a younger brother named Paul who also became a football coach. Petrino attended Capital High School, graduating in 1979, and then went to the local Carroll College, from which he earned a degree in physical education in 1983. While at the school, he played as a quarterback for the Fighting Saints football team, and during the 1983 season was a graduate assistant coach. Petrino's father, Bob Sr., was the head coach at Carroll from 1971 to 1999.
Assistant Coaching
In 1984, Petrino became a graduate assistant coach at Weber State College in Ogden, Utah. The following year, he returned to his alma mater Carroll as an offensive coordinator, remaining there for two seasons. Petrino subsequently returned to Weber State for two seasons from 1987 to 1988 as a wide receivers coach. In 1989, he became quarterbacks coach at the University of Idaho, and then offensive coordinator there from 1990 to 1991. After that, Petrino served as the quarterbacks coach at Arizona State University from 1992 to 1993. In 1994, he moved to the University of Nevada, where he served as both quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator. Petrino went on to serve as offensive coordinator at Utah State University from 1995 to 1997. He then served one season as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at the University of Louisville.
Petrino joined the NFL in 1999 to become the quarterbacks coach for the Jacksonville Jaguars. He remained with the team for three seasons, and in his final season became offensive coordinator. Petrino returned to the collegiate ranks in 2002 to become the offensive coordinator at Auburn University. After 20 years in various head coaching positions, he returned to assistant coaching in late 2022 to serve as the offensive coordinator at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. However, his position only lasted for 21 days. Petrino subsequently served as the offensive coordinator at Texas A&M University for one season. In late 2023, he was hired as offensive coordinator at the University of Arkansas.
(Photo by Mike Comer/Getty Images)
Head Coaching
Petrino's first position as head coach was at the University of Louisville from 2003 to 2006. He made a big impression during his tenure, leading the Louisville Cardinals to 11 wins in 2004 and 12 wins in 2006, as well as an Orange Bowl appearance in the latter year. Although he signed a 10-year contract in the summer of 2006 to remain head coach at Arkansas, Petrino ended up leaving in early 2007 to become head coach for the NFL's Atlanta Falcons. However, Petrino would resign from his position with the Hawks after just 13 games in what was a terrible season for the team. He subsequently became the head coach at the University of Arkansas. There, Petrino led the Razorbacks to the 2011 Sugar Bowl, their first major bowl appearance in two decades. The team ultimately lost to the Ohio State Buckeyes. Petrino went on to lead the Razorbacks to an incredible 11-2 season in 2011, culminating in a victory at the 2012 Cotton Bowl Classic.
In the spring of 2012, Petrino was involved in a motorcycle crash while riding with former Arkansas volleyball player Jessica Dorrell, whom he had hired as a student-athlete development coordinator for the Razorbacks football program. He subsequently revealed that he had been having an extramarital affair with her, and was fired from the University of Arkansas days later. At the end of the year, Petrino became the new head coach at Western Kentucky University. He signed a four-year contract, but only served one season at the school. Petrino then returned to Louisville, where he served as head coach from 2014 to 2018. Following a string of great seasons from 2015 to 2017, the Louisville Cardinals floundered terribly in 2018 and Petrino was consequently fired. He went on to become the head coach at Missouri State University from 2020 to 2022, during which time he led the Bears to two FCS playoff appearances, their first such appearances in three decades.
Personal Life
With his wife Becky, Petrino has two sons named Bobby Jr. and Nick and two daughters named Kelsey and Katie.
