News outlets are buzzing that Mark Richt will soon sign a contract extension that includes a nice raise for winning the SEC title this year. Now please understand that I don’t begrudge him his raise or recognition for a job well done. I also like Mark Richt, respect him as a man and a football coach, and hope he continues at Georgia for as long as he likes. I’m in his corner. It’s a great sign on the eve of Signing Day that Mark Richt isn’t going anywhere.

This mini-rant has less to do with Richt and more to do with the notion in sports that you deserve a new contract and significant raise for actually doing your job. Coaches get paid to win, professional athletes get paid to perform. Richt won the SEC in 2002 and his contract value doubled. The other side of the coin is that had he been another average 7-4 coach, he’d be looking for a job now. There just seems to be no medium and no end in sight.

At least Richt’s compensation isn’t tied to some ridiculous index that requires him to be the highest-paid coach in the SEC or the NCAA. Pay him well – he does a good job in a stressful perform-or-else position, but it would be insane to peg his compensation to the whims of some free-spending AD in Tuscaloosa or Baton Rouge. Notre Dame’s Charlie Weis was rewarded with an unheard-of ten year contract this season worth about $4-$5 million per year. How long until that salary is viewed as sub-par and the contract renegotiated? I give it three years.