USA Today Releases Athletic Director Salaries: Steve Pederson Does Well ... Very Well.

Tonight, a USA Today report surfaced that lists the apparent salaries of athletic directors at most of the Division I-A football playing schools.

Steve Pederson isn't at the very top ... but he's not far from it. Pederson reportedly ranks No. 24 in the nation of the schools they listed, making just under $600K. The report says he makes more than Mal Moore at Alabama, West Virginia's Oliver Luck, and Nebraska's Tom Osborne, among others. The report has no information on a few schools including Penn State and USC, but more than 100 are included. Former Pitt AD Jeff Long, now at Arkansas, isn't doing all that bad, either, reportedly making more than $550K.

I've been all over Pederson before, but he has done some good things such as working with the Chancellor to stay on top of conference expansion and secure Pitt's future. Pederson also has done a good job in turning the Notre Dame game into an annual contest and has been working to continue that series for the long term. And while he butchered the Dave Wannstedt/Mike Haywood situation, he went out and brought in what was viewed as a progressive coach in Todd Graham.

Oh yeah, and there's that whole Penn State game thing, too.