Is KU’s Bill Self college basketball’s highest paid coach? What the top coaches make

Shreyas Laddha
·2 min read
  • Oops!
    Something went wrong.
    Please try again later.

On Monday, Kansas coach Bill Self reportedly became the highest-paid men’s college basketball coach in the country. Some private institutions, such as Duke, do not report their coach salaries, but compared to the publicly available data, Self’s contract numbers are staggering.

The two-time National Championship winner at KU signed an amended “lifetime” contract in November that increased his pay significantly, as well as the cost for KU to fire him without cause, which is $23.1 million.

“Bill Self is undoubtedly the most consistent coach in college basketball, and a restructuring of his contract terms were long overdue,” KU athletic director Travis Goff said in a release.

Self signed a lifetime 5-year rolling contract in April 2021, adding one year at the end of each season for the remainder of his career.

Self will make $9.2 million this school year, plus an additional $3.6 million from money previously owed to him, for a total of around $12.8 million, according to figures provided by KU.

Without the money previously owed, the contract is a $44.5 million deal over the next five years ($8.9 million annually).

Adding the money previously owed, the contract becomes a $54.1 million deal, averaging around $10.8 million annually.

Self can earn additional money each year through various incentives listed in the contract, such as winning the Big 12, making the NCAA Tournament and reaching the Sweet 16 and Final Four.

Regardless, Self is earning (far) more than his coaching counterparts.

Here’s how Self’s salary for this year ($12.8 million) compares to some of the elite coaches around the nation...

Top college basketball coach salaries

1. Kansas coach Bill Self: $12.8 million (including previous money owed) — roughly $9.2 million in new money for 2023-24

2. Kentucky coach John Calipari: $8.5 million

3. Michigan State coach Tom Izzo: $6.2 million

4. Tennessee coach Rick Barnes:$ 5.7 million

5. Auburn coach Bruce Pearl: $5.4 million

6. UConn coach Dan Hurley: $5 million

7. Virginia coach Tony Bennett: $4.8 million

8. Illinois coach Brad Underwood: $4.6 million

9. Arkansas coach Eric Musselman: $4.2

10. UCLA coach Mick Cronin: $4.1 million