How does Steve Pikiell's Rutgers extension compare to other Big Ten coaches?

Rutgers is paying Steve Pikiell. There's no debate there. But contrasting his three-year, $8.85 million extension with the rest of the Big Ten's basketball coaches is a bit tricky. 

No matter how you look at it, though, athletics director Patrick Hobbs made a big investment in Pikiell, and took a big leap forward for the athletics department, with this new deal. 

If you assess Pikiell's amended contract in full as a now-eight-year deal, his average salary for the duration would be about $2.16 million annually. If just the three-year extension is considered, he'll make $2.95 million a year when the big money kicks in on the tail end. Either way, Pikiell now makes a middle-of-the-pack salary compared to the other Big Ten coaches, based on an NJ Advance Media review of salary figures from various outlets last March (the most recent available numbers for most coaches). 

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Michigan State's Tom Izzo led Big Ten coaches last year with a $4.25 million salary, according to a USA TODAY review of NCAA Tournament-qualifying coaches. Indiana's Archie Miller reportedly makes about $4 million a year. Michigan's John Beilein made $3.37 million last year. Ohio State coach Chris Holtmann makes about $3 million a year, as does Illinois' Brad Underwood. 

But after that, Pikiell is squarely in the mix with either figure. 

Maryland's Mark Turgeon made just over $2.5 million last year, with Purdue's Matt Painter just over $2.4 million. Nebraska's Tim Miles made $2.13 million last year. Every other Big Ten coach that had a publicly-known salary (Penn State's Patrick Chambers is not known) was under $2 million. 

These figures aren't perfect, and some have likely changed in the last year. But Pikiell's extension moves him up the board considerably in the conference and at the bottom of the top half of the 14-team league, or close to it. A year ago, Pikiell was No. 12 at best.

James Kratch may be reached at jkratch@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JamesKratch. Find NJ.com Rutgers Football on Facebook.