Nick Saban is a de facto state employee (understand many schools separate their ADs from the university) who makes $8.3M+. I'm a strong believer in the free market but the institution he works for is supported by AL taxpayers. If the company he works for had to cover more of their overhead, then maybe he salary would decrease. Pretty sure most NFL coaches are in the $5.5-6.0M range. FWIW...Saban is on top of the college game so that comparison has an apples & oranges flavor to it.Its hard to mimic the less successful and find a model though.
The only hope I have in all of this, is that these schools are no longer allowed to take tax dollars.