Coaching contracts in college football are fickle — you either open the checkbook when trajectory is positive or risk losing your leader to another program of perhaps greater prestige.

Some salaries and buyouts are worth their weight in gold while others can be financially-strapping if coaches don't deliver on sizable expectations that undoubtedly come with big figures.

Hitting the sweet spot is more luck than anything else and may not be long-lasting. In terms of good or bad deals based on current contracts, we've cycled through the Top 50 or so head coaches in college football to determine if they're being over or underpaid.

Editor's note: These contract figures were taken from USA Today's head coach salary database and some have been amended since the conclusion of the 2018 season due to extensions, raises and so forth: