Could Florida Sports Betting Revenue Go Towards Increasing Pay of High School Football Coaches?

Could a portion of Florida sports betting revenue be allocated toward raising the salaries for high school football coaches in The Sunshine State? A faction of stakeholders is hoping so.

The Coaches Coalition, founded by Andrew Ramjit back in 2021, believes that the legalization of sports betting in Florida can be used to supplement salaries for high school football coaches. There is support among certain elected officials for this stance, too.

“[I] had some early conversations with the Governor’s office on it,” Republican Representative Adam Anderson, from District 57 in Pinellas County (via News 4 in Jacksonville). “All I can say definitively from those conversations is there is an understanding in their office [of the issue] and there is a motivation to do something. What that is, we’re not there yet. This session, we’ll start fleshing this out through committee. I would say we could have impactful conversations [in committee].”

To be honest, increasing the salaries of high school football coaches is unlikely to top the state’s legislative agenda. Meetings will convene later this year, beginning in Marh. More pressing issues will top the to-discuss list. Many will also struggle to see why this is important. And even if they see the significance, others will wonder why Florida sports betting funds should be used. 

Initial Proposal Seeks to More Than Double Football Coaches’ Salary Using Florida Sports Betting Revenue

Justin Barney of News 4 in Jacksonville, an NBC affiliate, has more on the proposal. As he writes, it initially seems like supporters are hoping to more than double the salaries of high school football coaches in Florida:

“The Coaches Coalition has said that coaches deserve a minimum wage of $15, which will be the state minimum wage on Sept. 30, 2026. Based on the number of hours, that means head varsity football coaches would earn $22,500 a year, almost triple of what the state’s highest supplement ($8,317 in Charlotte County) is now. That’s a Mount Everest-sized ask right now in a state with no income tax and a desire for better teacher pay. But Anderson said he thinks there is room for improvement. The details are still in the exploratory stages but revenue from sports betting, which has been legal in Florida for roughly a year, could be an avenue for the state to tap as it tries to bridge the massive divide between high school coaches here and those in other states.”

The idea of “almost triple” the current salaries sounds more ridiculous before getting into the actual figures. Asking for minimum wage should not be considered a “Mount Everest-sized” request. Especially when you know that Florida sports betting revenue is worth millions of dollars per year to the state.

Granted, this is an assumption. Though revenue for online sports betting in the United States is readily available for most places, Floria is not among them. It is exclusively a tribal operation. And tribes are not beholden to the same public reporting standards.

Still, relative to The Sunshine State’s population, almost everyone agrees Florida sports betting is a billion-dollar industry. That means it should be worth millions annually in tax dollars.

Increasing High School Football Salaries May Not Be So Simple

Of course, increasing the salary of high school football coaches isn’t as simple as noting how much revenue Florida sports betting generates for the state. 

For starters, The Sunshine State already has plans for much of that money. Indeed, Florida’s gaming compact with the Seminole Tribe does not stipulate a specific use. But Governor Ron Desantis signed a bill this past April that ties $750 million per year to environmental projects. These projects include the removal of invasive species, the restoration of old water infrastructures, funding for environmental research and plans to improve the state’s water quality and wetlands. 

On the flip side, though, multiple projects can be bankrolled using Florida sports betting revenue. That is ostensibly the upside of having no specific allocation as part of the gaming compact.

And yet, as Barney notes, the state may have more pressing issues on its mind—starting with teachers’ salaries.

Teachers at large in The Sunshine State are underpaid. At the end of 2024, the average salary for teachers in Florida sat at $53,098. That is the lowest average in the country. This number also falls below the minimum living wage in Florida, which is currently $58,970.

If portions of Florida sports betting revenue are being allocated toward educational funding, most officials will likely argue it should go toward increasing teacher salaries. That, in turn, is a potential roadblock toward higher compensation for high school football coaches. 

Florida is Gearing Up for a Busy Legislative Session 

Regardless of where this all ends up, The Sunshine State is speeding toward a busy legislative session. And make no mistake, Florida sports betting will be at the center of it all.

This past year was the first in which the state offered legal sports betting for most of the calendar. Topics such as revenue spending will run the gamut of inquiries. Many also expect the expansion of Florida sports betting to be part of the conversation. 

Frankly, Florida sports betting expansion may be The Coaches Coalition’s best crack at having their proposal gaining real traction. Allowing more operators into the market should increase revenue projections. And the more revenue at the state’s disposal, the more likely they are to distribute it toward a bunch of different causes.

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