Tragic news: A crucial player’s retirement was announced by the Kenkucky Basketball head coach because he left his contract to sign a new one.
Following another defeat to a mid-major team with a double-digit seed in the NCAA men’s tournament, Kentucky coach John Calipari’s future with the team is in doubt. Athletics director Mitch Barnhart has not provided an update on Calipari’s condition since UK’s season-ending 80-76 loss to Oakland, a 14-seed from the Horizon League.
Nevertheless, many of Kentucky’s ardent supporters are prepared to sever their bonds with Calipari, who recently completed his 15th season in office. The Wildcats’ loss marked their third straight March Madness tournament that concluded during the first weekend; the previous two years’ first-round losses to Kansas State in the second round and 15-seed Saint Peter’s in the first round occurred in 2022.
Kentucky will need to provide the following if it wishes to fire Calipari: The amount of his buyout would be a record for a men’s basketball coach.
Given the conflicting reports about Calipari’s contract, particularly his buyout, the following is an overview of the key statistics pertaining to Kentucky’s longtime head coach:
In response to a play during his team’s defeat by Oakland in the opening round of the 2024 NCAA Tournament at PPG Paints Arena, Kentucky coach John Calipari reacts.
If Kentucky fired John Calipari without reason, what would it owe him?
Based on the coaching pay database maintained by USA TODAY Sports, if Calipari is fired without cause, he will be entitled to a buyout of $34,968,749 as of April 1. In 2019, Kentucky and Calipari reached an agreement on a new deal just one day after
the team’s defeat over Auburn in the Elite Eight. The updated contract expires on June 30, 2029.
Is there any offset clause in the deal with John Calipari? Or would the entire buyout be borne by Kentucky?
As stipulated in the contract, Calipari “agrees to mitigate” the buyout obligation in the event of his dismissal by using “reasonable efforts to obtain employment.” The possibilities include “a head or assistant coaching position or administrative position at an NCAA Division I college or university or with a professional sports team.”
The amount Kentucky would have to pay for the buyout would be offset if Calipari took a different coaching post, either because of his minimum guaranteed yearly income or “the reasonable market value” of the position, whichever is higher.
But like former Alabama football coach Nick Saban, another SEC great who recently departed, it has frequently been suggested that the outgoing Calipari might work as an analyst for television. It’s uncertain if his pay from a TV network would balance his buyout.
What would the terms of John Calipari’s buyout with Kentucky be in terms of frequency and pay schedule?
Calipari would not receive a lump sum payout for any of his buyout as per the terms of his contract. Rather, it would be paid throughout the course of the contract in monthly installments.
How does Kentucky’s buyout compare to that of other men’s basketball coaches if John Calipari leaves the program?
In the event that Calipari leaves, his buyout amount would be a record.
And more than twice as high as the previous record held by a men’s basketball coach.
Wake Forest paid Danny Manning over $14.7 million as a buyout when it fired him in 2021, according to USA TODAY Sports. From the time USA TODAY Sports started keeping track of buyout data in 2017, this is the most buyout amount ever given to a men’s basketball coach.
