Football: CU Buffs give defensive coordinator Robert Livingston extension, raise

Leading the Colorado Buffaloes’ defense to a resurgence in 2024 has landed coordinator Robert Livingston a contract extension and significant raise.

On Thursday, the Colorado board of regents approved a new contract for Livingston that will make him the highest-paid assistant coach in school history and one of the highest-paid assistants in the Big 12 Conference.

Livingston’s new contract is a two-year deal through the 2026 season worth an average of $1.55 million in base and supplemental salary. Livingston will make $1.5 million in 2025 and $1.6 million in 2026. In addition, Livingston would receive a $100,000 retention bonus if he is still on the CU staff on Sept. 1, 2026.

The new deal replaces the two-year contract Livingston signed a year ago when he was hired by CU and head coach Deion Sanders. He made $800,000 in 2024 and was slated to make $995,000 this year.

Livingston was a semifinalist for the Broyles Award, which honors the top assistant coach in college football, after helping CU to a 9-4 season and a trip to the Alamo Bowl.

“Coach Prime and I have worked extensively to build on the incredible momentum that has been created with our football program over the last two years,” CU athletic director Rick George said in a statement provided to BuffZone. “Robert Livingston is a top caliber coach, and this new contract illustrates the investment Colorado Athletics is making to ensure our program remains among the nation’s best. I’m thrilled that Coach Livingston will continue to mentor our student-athletes for years to come.”

Prior to this new contract for Livingston, the highest salary for a CU assistant was the $850,000 salaries of former offensive coordinator Sean Lewis and former defensive coordinator Charles Kelly in 2023.

According to USA Today, Utah coordinators Andy Ludwig ($2.05 million) and Morgan Scalley ($2 million) were the only assistants among the 13 public institutions in the Big 12 to make more than $1.2 million last season. Only 26 assistant coaches around the country made at least $1.5 million during the 2024 season.

A first-year coordinator who came to CU from the NFL’s Cincinnati Bengals a year ago, Livingston engineered a dramatic turnaround for the defense in 2024.

The Buffs were sixth in the Big 12 in scoring defense (allowing 23.1 points per game) and eighth in total defense (allowing 351.9 yards per game). In 2023, before Livingston was hired, CU gave up 34.8 points and 453.3 yards per game.

The 2024 season was the first time in CU history that total defense improved by at least 100 yards (101.4), and the 11.7-point improvement in the scoring defense was the best for a CU team in nearly 40 years (the 1985 team made a 19.1-point improvement).

In addition, CU also led the Big 12 in sacks (39) and tackles for loss (93), finished second with 27 takeaways and had the Big 12 defensive player of the year in cornerback Travis Hunter.

Per the terms of Livingston’s contract, if he were to leave CU during the next 120 days for a position with another school in the NCAA, he would owe CU 80% of this year’s salary ($1.2 million). If he leaves for an NCAA position at any other time during the first year of the deal, he would owe 35% of this year’s salary ($525,000).

Leaving CU for another NCAA position in the second contract year would require Livingston to pay 25% of that year’s contract ($400,000). An additional 10% would be added to the liquidated damages if Livingston leaves CU for another Big 12 Conference school during the term of the contract.

Liquidated damages will be waived if Livingston leaves CU for an NCAA head coaching job or an NFL head coach or defensive coordinator job. He would owe 10 percent of his salary if he leaves CU for an NFL coaching position that is not as a head coach or defensive coordinator.

If Livingston is fired without cause during the term of his contract, CU would owe him the full remaining value of the deal.

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