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How much money does a basketball coach make


The Average Salary of a College Basketball Coach | Work

By Patrick Gleeson, Ph. D., Updated March 15, 2018

Imagine that you have a job cleaning the office of a well-known civil defense attorney whose annual income is around $3 million. Your $15 per hour cleaning job gives you about $30,000 a year. How meaningful is it to say that in this office the average salary is slightly over $1.5 million? A similar issue attaches to the concept of an "average salary" for basketball coaches. What "average" is depends upon the prominence of the basketball program, the program's division (I, II or III) and the coach's gender.

Average Salaries

Salaries range widely among college basketball coaches. Even among the coaches at Division I schools whose teams made it to the 2017 NCAA tournament, salaries range from former Louisville coach Rick Pitino's $7,769,200 to North Dakota coach Brian Jones' $109,273.

When the salaries of coaches at smaller schools are taken into account, the average is probably not more than $100,000. Even then, that average is skewed higher by the almost surrealistically high salaries of the 40 top-paying NCAA schools, all of which pay their head basketball coaches $1 million or more.

Salaries for available coaching jobs listed by Glassdoor for three mid-size colleges ranged from a little over $30,000 to $60,000. This range, still wide, probably represents the salary range for most college basketball coaches. An outdated 2008 U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics estimate of the average yearly salaries for coaches other than those at the elite NCAA I schools was around $40,000. Salaries for college basketball coaches have risen since 2008, but not dramatically.

All the above information relates to male college basketball coaches. Ironically (or, perhaps, regrettably), the highest paid college coach of women's college basketball programs as of 2018 is a man, Connecticut's Geno Auriemma, who makes over $2 million a year. The second highest paid coach of women's basketball is also a man. The University of Tennessee's brilliant Pat Summitt, now deceased but still the all-time leader of wins in Division I for both men and women, earned about $1.25 million. No other Big Ten female coach has broken above a million, and only four make over $500,000.

What College Basketball Coaches Do

That ESPN shot of a college coach whispering into the ear of a star player who then turns the game around suggests that college coaching is a glamorous occupation played out in the spotlight. The reality is far different. A typical job description for the head basketball coaching job at one smaller school, Panola College, lists 31 different job responsibilities, very few of which ESPN would ever televise. Responsibilities include recruiting, scheduling, budgeting, equipment and uniform purchasing, ensuring compliance with league ethical mandates, overseeing statistics, engaging in public relations and fundraisers, providing academic advising for each player and tracking their academic progress.

Educational Requirements

A Bachelor's degree is mandatory. Many college coaches have advanced degrees ranging from sports medicine to business administration.

Job Growth Trend 

The Bureau of Labor Statistics finds that job opportunities for college basketball coaches are growing at around 13 percent annually and are projected to grow at that rate from 2018 through 2026.

Why Coach?

Basketball coaches at elite college programs make celebrity money, but there are fewer than a hundred jobs paying that kind of money in a country of over 300 million inhabitants. If you pursue coaching as a profession, the odds of your getting one of these jobs aren't great, any more than taking up high school basketball as a player is likely to lead to an NBA center's salary.

Mike Davenport, head softball coach for 18 years at North Georgia, wrote an article for CoachingSportsToday listing 77 reasons why you might want to teach a sport. The number one reason was "To have fun." In other words, to engage in something you really like doing a lot and where the process itself is enjoyable. Many of Davenport's other 76 reasons have to do with helping others and making a difference. None of them had to do with making money.

How Much Does A College Basketball Coach Make?

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The salaries of college basketball coaches vary greatly depending on a few different factors. Some of these factors include how much experience the coach has, the size of the school they are coaching at, and how successful their team is. According to ZipRecruiter, when all coaches are taken into account, the average salary is around $46,000. Some of the more experienced coaches at bigger schools, such as Bill Self, can make millions of dollars.

Table of Contents

  • Larger vs Smaller Schools Basketball Coaching Salaries
  • Men’s vs Women’s Basketball Coaching Salaries
  • Highest Paid Men’s Coaches
  • Highest Paid Women’s Coaches
  • FAQ

Larger vs Smaller Schools Basketball Coaching Salaries

The size of the school is an important factor when determining a college basketball coach’s salary. Coaches who coach a Division I school (largest size) will make more than a coach at a Division II school (medium size) or Division III school (smallest size). To illustrate this point, the highest salary for a Division II men’s coach was recently found to be $110,000. By comparison, the smallest salary for a Division I men’s coach was found to be $250,000. 

This drastic difference is even more evident when looking at differences among Division I head coaches. While the minimum salary was $250,000 for Johnny Jones at Texas Southern University, the maximum salary in 2021-22 in Division I was Bill Self at the University of Kansas, who made a little over $10 million. Self has won two national championships and coaches at a school in Kansas that has an enrollment of just under 28,000 students. Comparatively, Jones hasn’t won any national championships, and Texas Southern has an enrollment size of about 7,500. Clearly, school size and team success can have a big impact on a coach's salary. Furthermore, the differences between men’s and women’s college basketball coaches at similar schools are interesting to note.

Men’s vs Women’s Basketball Coaching Salaries

While there is still a gap between men’s coaches and women’s coaches, the pay of women’s coaches has been increasing over the past ten years. In the 2011-12 season, the average salary for a women’s college basketball Division I coach at some of the top schools was $700,000. At those same schools, the average was about $900,000 in 2021-22. That being said, there is still a gap, especially when it comes to the top coaches in each sport. The highest-paid coach in women’s college basketball is Geno Auriemma. Geno made about $2.9 million in 2021-22. Obviously, this is a long way off from the $10 million salary of Bill Self. This is despite the fact that Geno has won 11 national championships and has won over 88% of his games. Self is not an outlier in the men’s game either. This past season, the top 37 men’s college basketball coaches’ salaries were higher than Geno’s.  Clearly, while women’s college basketball salaries are on the rise, there is still a long way to go before they are on an equal playing field with their counterparts on the men’s side.

Highest Paid Men’s Coaches

Top-Five Men’s College Basketball Coach Salaries (2021-22):

CoachSchoolSalary
Bill SelfKansas$10,184,282
John CalipariKentucky$8,602,306
Tom IzzoMichigan State$8,341,321
Mike KrzyzewskiDuke$7,353,496
Jay WrightVillanova$6,192,252

Highest Paid Women’s Coaches

Top-Five Women’s College Basketball Coach Salaries (2021-22):

CoachSchoolSalary
Geno AuriemmaConnecticut$2,900,000
Dawn StaleySouth Carolina$2,700,000
Kim MulkeyLouisiana State$2,639,625
Vic SchaeferTexas$1,800,000
Jeff WalzLouisville$1,525,000

FAQ

Who is the highest-paid college basketball coach ever?

The college basketball coach who has the highest net worth ever is Mike Krzyzewski, with a net worth of around $45 million.  Nicknamed “Coach K,” he retired after coaching the Army West Point men’s college basketball team from 1975-1979 and the Duke University men’s college basketball team from 1980-2022. He ranks first all-time in wins for a Division I college basketball head coach with 1,202 wins between both schools.

Do college coaches get a bonus for winning March Madness?

College basketball coaches do receive a bonus when their team wins the NCAA tournament. Coaches will always have an incentive in their contract for postseason success, and it is not just for winning the championship. In 2021-22, Bill Self received $200,000 when Kansas won the men’s NCAA tournament, along with $50,000 for qualifying for the tournament, $100,000 for being one of the final 16 teams, and $150,000 for being one of the Final Four teams. 

How much does a D1 assistant college basketball coach make?

In 2021, the salary for the average assistant college basketball coach in Division I was about $57,000.  Like head coaches, however, this number can vary greatly depending on the coach's experience and what school they are at. For example, in 2017, Kenny Payne made $805,000 as an assistant coach for the Kentucky men’s basketball team. Payne would go on to become an assistant coach for the New York Knicks of the NBA, showing how valuable he is viewed in the basketball world. 

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The most expensive basketball coaches in the world - Blogg on the floor - Blogs

Being a famous basketball coach in 2016 is not only prestigious, but also very profitable. It's rare to find a head coach in the NBA who earns less than $3 million a year - even though that's half the average player salary. Coaches of major NCAA programs regularly earn seven-figure salaries and are the most expensive (or second most expensive after football head coaches) employees at their university - because as valuable as professors are, tens of thousands of people will not come to their lecture to see how they teach .

The Basketball Coaching Luxury Center is expectedly located in the USA. The most expensive coach in Europe, Zeljko Obradovic, earns 2 million euros a year at Fenerbahce. Previously, he could have claimed some kind of high place, but the euro, the rising cost of coaches in the NBA and the huge number of costly resignations put him only in the fifth or sixth ten of this ranking of the highest paid basketball coaches in the world in the 2015/16 season.

1. Gregg Popovich, San Antonio

$11,000,000

Popovich has been coaching the Spurs since 1996 and will coach for as long as he wants. The only thing that changes in the contract of Gregg, who also serves as President of Basketball Operations, is the amount of compensation for such pastime. After the championship in 2014, there were rumors that Popovich was about to retire. However, he not only stayed, but also extended the agreement until 2019 with a serious increase in salary, which made him the most expensive coach in the United States. More among NBA coaches earned only Phil Jackson on his last contract with the Lakers (12 million).

2. Doc Rivers, Clippers

$10,000,000

Doc Rivers was ending his career with the Spurs, where he was signed as a free agent in 1994 by then general manager Gregg Popovich. Now Doc is trying to trace Popovich's progress. He also holds not only the position of coach, but also the position of President of Basketball Operations, he also extended his contract by five years until 2019, and he also receives an eight-figure sum. It's good to have a generous team owner like Steve Ballmer.

3-4. Stan Van Gundy, Detroit

$7,000,000 90,010 90,003 90,002 90,003 90,002 In 2014, apparently, it was just customary to give expensive five-year contracts for a dual position. Here is another person who simultaneously holds the post of chief both in the coaching staff and in the basketball management of his club. At the same time, Van Gundy still does not have a championship ring that could be waved in front of potential employers: in Miami -2006 he was fired at the start of the season, and in Orlando -2009It was just the NBA Finals. But Stan managed to convince the owner of the Pistons to give him so much power and money - otherwise he would have gone to coach the Golden State.

3-4. Rick Carlyle, Dallas

$7,000,000

He is loved by the players and fans of Dallas, to whom he won the championship in 2011, he is respected by his colleagues who elected him head of the union, he is appreciated by Mark Cuban. In November, Rick extended his contract until 2021 and will now receive about 7 million a year. Since NBA contract numbers are confidential, it's impossible to say with certainty whether these terms come into effect this year or next season.

5. John Calipari, University of Kentucky

$6,356,756

Depending on the calculation method (only base salary is taken into account or additional earnings are also taken into account, whether bonuses will be received at the end of the season) Calipari is either ahead or behind Krzyszewski in "value". If he is still ahead, then for the first time in his career, Calipari becomes the highest paid coach in college basketball. Above are just two NCAA football coaches, Saban and Harbaugh. That's why Calipari is putting up a $120 million price tag for someone who wants to lure him into the NBA.

6. Mike Krzyszewski, Duke University

$6,043,979

Mike's own salary has fallen - last season, thanks to bonuses for winning the NCAA championship, Krzyszewski received 9.7 million. Now he is not even the first among student coaches. However, Coach Kay also receives some unknown amount from the US team.

7. Rick Pitino, University of Louisville

$6,004 529

Pitino's base salary from the university is only 4 million. income from sports activities, including commissions from adidas and, probably, salary from work in the Puerto Rico national team. But the glory days of Pitino making over $9 million a year are over. But the current contract is valid until 2026 (!) Years.

8. Billy Donovan, Oklahoma City

$6,000,000

In early April last year, Donovan signed a one-season, $4 million conditional contract extension with the University of Florida. In late April of that year, Billy walked out of his contract with the university, accepting an offer to coach Kevin Durant in the NBA. Five years, $30 million and the eighth highest paid basketball head coach.

9-13. Fred Hoiberg, Chicago

$5,000,000

Heuberg doesn't have the same resume as Donovan, so his five-year contract with the Bulls will make him $1 million less. Moreover, I had to pay 500 thousand for the termination of the contract with the University of Iowa State. However, thanks to his success in the NCAA, his Minnesota front office experience, and his past as a Bulls player, Hoiberg landed an elite coaching contract.

9-13. Steve Kerr, Golden State

$5,000,000

Promising NBA rookie coaches and their contracts are now measured by Steve Kerr, operator of the defending champions from Golden State. When Kerr signed up for 25/5 in May 2014, everyone thought it was a huge overpayment for someone who had never coached at any level before, was remembered as a general manager mainly for “sniffing glue,” and last worked for anyone. even in 2010. The FGPs took a risk and invested in the Kerr bloodline: a man who studied for 5 years with Luth Olson, 3 years with Lenny Wilkens, 5 years with Phil Jackson and 4 years with Gregg Popovich simply cannot be a bad coach.

9-13. Derek Fisher, New York

$5,000,000

When Phil Jackson became President of the Knicks, he immediately began looking for a coach among his former point guards. At first, he verbally agreed with Kerr - but then Steve was offered a more promising job in California, and he changed his mind about going to Jackson. Then the Zen Master called Fischer, whom he had planned to call either to the coaching staff or to the front office, and gave him the same contract that Kerr received at Golden State, 25 million for five seasons. However, according to some insiders, Fischer's contract structure is full of bonuses and team options, so for example, Derek received only about 4 million for poor results last season.

9-13. Jason Kidd, Milwaukee

$5,000,000

Kidd's contract runs through 2017. The deal with Bucks general manager John Hammond was recently extended through 2017. Kidd is rumored to be interested in management jobs. Joe Prunty fills in for Kidd on the coaching bridge while Jason recovers from surgery (Prunty tried on the role of Kidd back in the Nets during his suspension for "Hit me"). You don't have to be an oracle to predict the scenario: this year and next, Kidd will still be in the rankings of coaches, and from the 17/18 season he will move into the rankings of the highest paid managers in the NBA.

9-13. Terry Stotts, Portland

$5,000,000

Surprised by Stotts' salary? The contract was concluded in 2014, when Portland, after the most successful season in many years, planned to go “all in”; who knew that in a year only Lillard would remain from that team. And Stotts. Terry's contract has been extended until 2017, although the club has the option to terminate the contract as early as the coming summer. On the one hand, there is logic in this, given the restructuring of the Blazers, but on the other hand, from what I heard, Paul Allen is not a poor man.

14. Bill Self, University of Kansas

$4,955,186

In 2013, Bill Self signed a very cool 10-year, $50 million deal. Until 2019, he will receive 5 million a year, and then bonuses, signing bonus guarantees and other nuances come into play that can increase Self's salary to almost 10 million in the last year of the contract. Self's complex contract with the Jayhawks is four agreements and 32 pages long—and with the third-highest net salary in the NCAA, Bill will still be considered one of the most overrated college coaches.

15-16. Scott Brooks Oklahoma City (fired)

$4,500,000

When Brooks was fired last April, he had one more year left on his contract, which he signed in the wake of reaching the NBA Finals in 2012. Not usually the most generous owner of the Thunder, Clay Bennett decided not to skimp this year, knowing that Kevin Durant's contract was about to expire. Hence the repetition of Kanter's maximum wage, and the second-largest luxury tax in the league, and the costly change of coach.

15-16. Lionel Hollins, Brooklyn (Fired)

$4,500,000

Hollins, recently fired, has the same annual salary as Brooks, but if Brooks gets a forfeit for a year, then Hollins gets one and a half, because his contract was guaranteed until 2017.

17. Tom Thibodeau, Chicago (fired)

$4,375,000

Thibodeau's contract also ran until the end of the 2016/17 season. The Bulls management was thinking about the option of trading Tibbs to some other team and not paying the remaining 9million, but in the end it was decided to simply fire Tom. However, Thibodeau will clearly find himself a new job before the Bulls stop paying his compensation, so it's possible that some of the deduction will go back into Jerry Reinsdorf's pocket when Thibodeau takes over as an NBA coach again.

18. Kevin McHale, Houston (Sacked)

$4,333,333

In December 2014, McHale signed a three-year, $13 million extension with the club. The contract came into force in the 2015/16 season, Kevin led the team for 11 games and was fired. Total: 13 million for 11 games, that is, more than a million per match. Naturally, the Rockets are now in no hurry to appoint a new expensive coach, and the team is managed on an interim basis by JB Bickerstaff at his assistant rate.

19. Byron Scott, Lakers

$4,250,000

Byron Scott interrupts list of fired coaches. Sign? Maybe. The contract is valid for one more season, plus the team has the right to extend it until 2018. The question of whether Byron will finalize his contract to the end remains open. During his coaching career, Scott only once made sure that the contract was extended with him.

20. Tom Izzo, Michigan State University

$4,006 955

Apart from a year in high school in the late 70s, Tom Izzo has only had one job as a head coach: Spartans. He has held this position since 1995 and receives a well-deserved reward, refusing regular calls from various NBA clubs. His current contract runs until 2021.

21. Mike Brown, Cleveland (Fired)

$4,000,000

Last season, unemployed Mike Brown received about $10 million in compensation from the Cavs and the Lakers. This year, the flow of money from the Lakers (the contract was for 7 million a year, something went deductible when Brown signed with Cleveland) has stopped, but Brown will still receive a salary from the Cavs until 2017. Throw in Blatt's $3. 33 million and Tyrone Liu's new paycheck, and Dan Gilbert is spending nearly as much on his head coaches as the Spurs are spending on Popovich. Alas, it's not so simple, Mr. Gilbert. It works a little differently.

P.S. . Michael Malone, Denver (also fired from Sacramento) - receives about $4,000,000. million from two teams. It is difficult to name the amount even approximately, because not only the salary from Denver is unknown, but also that part of the previous salary of 2.25 million that Sacramento continues to pay. It's entirely possible that Malone is in the top 20 in terms of total earnings.

Reference : Other basketball coaches earning more than 3 million a year: Duane Casey , Toronto (3.75), Brad Stevens , Boston (3.67), George Karl , Sacramento (3.63), Sean Miller , University of Arizona ( 3.48), Alvin Gentry , New Orleans (3. 44), Tad Matta , Ohio State University (3.37), David Blatt , Cleveland, fired (3.33), Bob Huggins West Virginia University (3.27), Tom Crean Indiana University (3.05), Eric Spoelstra Miami, and Randy Wittman , Washington (both - 3 million).

Photo: Gettyimages.ru/Stephen Dunn; REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson; Gettyimages.ru/Maddie Meyer, Tom Pennington, Andy Lyons, Chip Somodevilla, Andy Lyons, Streeter Lecka, Vaughn Ridley, Ezra Shaw, Rob Carr, Tom Lynn, Doug Pensinger, David Purdy, Doug Pensinger, Al Bello, Jonathan Daniel, Scott Halleran, Sean M. Haffey, Gregory Shamus, Kevin C. Cox

Who is the highest paid NBA head coach?

NBA coach salary:
Who is the highest paid NBA coach in 2022? The average salary for an NBA head coach is $3 million a year.

This is one of the toughest jobs to manage an NBA team. With so much pressure and responsibility on the shoulders of a manager, it is not easy to make decisions in times of adversity. However, with great pressure and responsibility comes huge sums of money. The salary of an NBA coach is one of the highest in the managerial field.

Although compared to the players, it's not even close. But, nevertheless, NBA coaches earn decent money. Here are the highest paid NBA coach salaries for 2022 and the average NBA head coach salary.

What is the average salary for an NBA coach?

According to reports, the average salary of an NBA coach is about $3 million. Each team plays 82 games per season.

If you calculate the salary of an NBA coach per game, then it will be 64,500 64,500 dollars per game. No doubt, coaching is hard work, but earning $ XNUMX XNUMX per match is not a bad amount.

READ: NBA referee salary

NBA head coach salary in 2022

NBA coaches' salaries are based on the coach's popularity, market value, and how much management is willing to spend to get their services. Here is a list of some of the highest paid NBA coaches.

1.
Gregg Popovich (San Antonio Spurs) : $11 million

He is one of the most successful coaches in the NBA. Gregg took over at Tottenham in 1996 and he's still going strong. Under his leadership, the San Antonio Spurs won 5 NBA titles. Popovich became the highest paid coach in the NBA when he signed a three-year contract with the San Antonio Spurs worth about $3 million.

2.
Doc Rivers (Los Angeles Clippers) : $10 million

Rivers joined the Los Angeles Clippers in 2013. He is known for his tactical games. Under his leadership, the Los Angeles Clippers have won numerous National Basketball Association (NBA) titles. His annual salary is $8 million.

3.
Rick Carlyle (Dallas Mavericks): $7 million

He managed several teams such as the Detroit Pistons, Indiana Pacers and Dallas Mavericks. He currently manages the Dallas Mavericks. Rick won the NBA Manager of the Year title in 2002-03.


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