Kirby Smart, Georgia Agree to New Contract Through 2024

After last year's run to the College Football Playoff Championship Game, Georgia has rewarded head coach Kirby Smart with a contract extension. 

Per ESPN's Mark Schlabach, Smart's new deal will run through 2024 with a total salary of $49 million over the next seven years. 

Since being hired by Georgia in December 2015, Smart has brought the program back to national prominence. 

Smart went 8-5 in his first season with the Bulldogs, but the 2017 season was a dramatic improvement. They won the SEC championship for the first time in 12 years, defeating Auburn 28-7 in the title game to earn the No. 3 seed in the College Football Playoff. 

After defeating Oklahoma in the Rose Bowl to reach the title game, Georgia fell to Alabama 26-23 in overtime. 

Despite that loss, Smart has reloaded Georgia's roster for 2018 with the nation's top-ranked recruiting class, per 247Sports. 

Georgia's 13 wins last season were its most since 2002. Smart comes from the Nick Saban coaching tree in Alabama, serving as defensive coordinator from 2008-15, and is building a talent farm that could start to rival the Crimson Tide. 

The Bulldogs didn't waste time investing in Smart as the face of their football program after his breakout 2017 season.