How much is Penn State paying Mike Rhoades?
Shortly after the Penn State Board of Trustees voted in favor of approving a contract for Mike Rhoades to become the next head basketball coach of the Nittany Lions, Penn State officially announced the hiring of the former VCU head coach. After reports suggested Penn State was willing to pay around $4 million per year for its next head coach following the departure of Micah Shrewsberry, the school officially backed that report up with a solid contract that provides a structure for sustained success and leadership for more than a couple of years.
So how much is Penn State paying Rhoades to be the head coach? Let’s dig into the numbers a bit to see the breakdown.
How many years is the contract?
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Penn State signed Mike Rhoades to a seven-year contract. His first season will be the 2023-24 season, with work already underway to assemble a coaching staff and then fill out the depleted roster. Rhoades will coach through the 2029-30 season according to the terms of the contract.
What is the base pay for Mike Rhoads?
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For the duration of the seven-year contract, Penn State will pay Mike Rhoades a base salary of $500,000. That number remains the same for the duration of the seven-year deal.
Supplemental pay by year breakdown
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This is where the meat and potatoes of the deal raise the financial commitment from Penn State. Mike Rhoades will receive supplemental pay of $2.9 million in his first season with the Nittany Lions. That figure will increase by $100,000 annually and caps out at $3.5 million in the seventh year of the contract.
In the long run, Penn State will pay Rhoades $3.7 million per season during the course of the contract. It is believed this is a substantial upgrade in pay for a head coach by Penn State compared to each of Rhoades’ predecessors, but it is worth mentioning that Rhoades comes to Penn State with multiple years of head coaching experience, which was not the case for former head coaches [autotag]Micah Shrewsberry[/autotag] and Pat Chambers.
2023-24 | $2.9 million |
2024-25 | $3 million |
2025-26 | $3.1 million |
2026-27 | $3.2 million |
2027-28 | $3.3 million |
2028-29 | $3.4 million |
2029-30 | $3.5 million |
Total Guaranteed Compensation
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So, what does this all add up to before accounting for any incentives?
2023-24 | $3.4 million |
2024-25 | $3.5 million |
2025-26 | $3.6 million |
2026-27 | $3.7 million |
2027-28 | $3.8 million |
2028-29 | $3.9 million |
2029-30 | $4.0 million |
How much is the buyout for Mike Rhoades?
Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports
As a potential sign of the commitment Penn State is making to Rhoades, and as a sign that the school truly wants Rhoades to stick around to build something in Happy Valley, the terms of the buyout are pretty notable. The buyout for Rhoades in the first two seasons on the job reaches eight digits and will be $6 million in year four.
Year 1 | $15 million |
Year 2 | $12 million |
Year 3 | $9 million |
Year 4 | $6 million |
Year 5 | $3 million |
Year 6 | $1.5 million |
Year 7 | $0 |
And how about those incentives?
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We know how much Penn State is promising to pay Mike Rhoades during the course of his seven-year contract, and how much it will cost for a buyout. But what about the bonus incentives? What if things go really well for Penn State basketball? How much more could Rhoades be tacking onto his paycheck from Penn State?
Rhoades can make up to $1.075 million in incentive money. Here’s the incentive breakdown.
Big Ten coach of the year (solo or shared) | $50,000 |
National coach of the year (solo or shared) | $100,000 |
Big Ten regular season championship (solo or shared) | $150,000 |
Top 5 Big Ten finish (including ties) | $50,000 |
10 or more Big Ten regular season wins | $25,000 |
Big Ten Tournament championship | $50,000 |
Win 20 or more game sin a season | $25,000 |
Postseason NIT appearance | $10,000 |
Each postseason NIT win | $10,000 |
NCAA Tournament appearance | $100,000 |
Each NCAA Tournament win | $75,000 |
In addition, Rhoades will also get the use of a pair of dealer vehicle stipends and 25 personal use hours on a private aircraft.
