Coach Cal will lose $700,000 in bonuses if he misses the NCAA Tournament, according to Forbes’s Chris Smith
Such consistently strong performances are rare, and Calipari was rewarded with a 2011 contract extension that ensures he’ll be well paid through the 2018-19 season. The coach rakes in $3.8 million in annual pay (base salary plus income from broadcasting and endorsements), not to mention $1 million retention bonuses paid in the summer of each year he stays, excepting 2015 and 2018.
John Calipari’s Kentucky: A Harvard for the NBA Bound-Basketball Star? Allen St. John Allen St. John Contributor
Final Four: Head Coaches Break The Bank With Performance Bonuses Chris Smith Chris Smith Forbes StaffIt’s a sweet deal made even sweeter by a bevy of performance bonuses that pays the coach up to $850,000 in additional income each season. Calipari nearly maxed out those bonuses last year, collecting $4.6 million in total school pay, a 21% increase on his base income. But of the $800,000 in bonus money, $700,000 were directly tied to NCAA Tournament play. In other words, deep tournament runs are a great way for Calipari to supplement his annual salary, but missing the tournament entirely will drastically limit the coach’s earning potential.
And while a Calipari-led Kentucky is ordinarily a lock for tournament play – Calipari’s teams have made deep tournament runs every year since 2006, and the Wildcats have missed the cut just once since 1991 – the prospect of sitting on the outside looking in is far from fantasy. Kentucky is just 20-9, floating on the tournament bubble with only two games left to play.
See Forbes article.
