‘Everything is done’: Kansas State closing in on contract extension for Jerome Tang

Kansas State has been working to reward Jerome Tang with a lucrative contract extension ever since he led the Wildcats to 26 victories and a trip to the Elite Eight during his first season as a college head coach.

The job is almost complete.

After months of back-and-forth negotiations, K-State athletic director Gene Taylor expects to finalize a new deal for Tang in the very near future.

“Everything is done,” Taylor said during an interview with The Eagle. “Our attorney has been out on vacation. His attorneys have been doing some other things. As soon as they get back we think we can wrap this up here pretty quickly. We are literally down to some language stuff right now. There isn’t anything major that’s keeping it from happening, other than just people being able to get on the phone and work through some stuff.”

Also delaying matters is the fact that Tang has been out of the country with the K-State men’s basketball team for the past two weeks as the Wildcats posted a 2-1 record against foreign competition during a trip to the Middle East.

It’s possible he could sign a new contract as early as next week after the Wildcats return home on Sunday.

Tang signed a six-year contract with K-State when he was hired to replace Bruce Weber in the spring of 2022. His deal paid him $2.1 million in his first season, but he earned an extra $175,000 in performance-based bonuses by leading the Wildcats to unexpected heights.

His current deal maxes out at a salary of $2.6 million during the 2027-28 season.

Tang was among the lowest-paid coaches in the Big 12 when he first arrived at K-State. That is expected to change now that he has the program on the rise.