Bret Bielema Net Worth: Complete salary structure, contract breakdown, financial assets, and more

Bret Bielema returned to the college football scene in 2021 as the head coach of the Illinois Fighting Illini. With a successful coaching career that includes stints at multiple programs and experience in the NFL, Bielema has established himself as one of the top coaches in the college football world.

Bret Bielema: Net Worth 2023

Bret Bielema reportedly has an estimated net worth of $8 million in 2023. The Iowa alum is currently one of the richest coaches in the world of college football and has amassed his wealth through his coaching career which has spanned nearly three decades.

Two years into his role at Illinois, he was rewarded with a new contract at the end of the 2022 season after transforming the program from strugglers to winners. Bret Bielema signed a new six-year deal that keeps him with the Fighting Illini until at least 2028.

The new deal will earn him $6 million annually, a significant increase from $4.2 million in the previous deal he signed while joining in late 2020. The new contract also incorporates yearly salary increases and bonuses, along with a $500,000 yearly retention bonus.

Bret Bielema will earn $6 million in the first year of his contract and will have an increase of $150,000 on his salary annually over the six-year period. This means he will get to earn $6.75 million as annual pay in the last year of the contract.

Bielema can also qualify for up to four one-year extensions on the new contract provided he meets specific performance criteria. This is on the condition that his Fighting Illini team achieves a minimum of six wins per season during a contract year.

Bret Bielema's Houses

Bielema is known to be a fan of big houses. The coach has lived in a large apartment in every city he's worked in as a college football head coach. He got his first head coaching job in 2005 at Wisconsin and has since then been making strides.

He owned a large mansion standing on 6,600 square-foot in Lake Waubesa while he was the head coach of Wisconsin. The home was listed for $2.2 after his exit from the Badgers. Bielema was hired as the Arkansas head coach after his Wisconsin tenure.

The coach also lived in a big mansion in Fayetteville, which he bought $1.5 million, during his time at Arkansas. He reportedly sold the home for $1.82 million after his exit from the Razorback in 2017. He has also built a new house for himself in Illinois.