What a difference three decades makes for Calipari

July 2019: A ‘ lifetime’ deal

Career record: 750- 211 (. 780)

Career earnings: $ 78.9 million

For years, Kentucky administrators talked openly about trying to sign Calipari to a “lifetime” contract, essentially tying him to the school until retirement. He signed such a deal in the summer of 2019, and it remains his current contract today.

The 10- year contract stretches through June 30, 2029, at which point Calipari would be 70, and pays him an average of $ 8.6 million per year.

It also would allow Calipari to leave coaching at any point after next season and step into the role of “special assistant to the athletic director.” That job would pay him $ 950,000 per year.

“I think it’s being respectful on both sides,” Barnhart said of the arrangement.

Since signing that contract in 2019, USA TODAY Sports found that Calipari has made roughly $ 33.6 million. That brings his career earnings as a college coach to $ 112.5 million, or $ 142.7 million when adjusted for inflation.

That figure will only continue to grow in the years to come, as Calipari’s contract also has significant guarantees. If he is fired without cause, he will be owed 75% of the money left on the deal. As of April 1, that would be

$ 41.3 million.

“I think what we’ve done is we’ve come to a place where we think the importance of the job lands in a certain spot, and we’ve honored that appropriately,” Barnhart said. “Knowing that the job is an immense job, and that it’s an important one, and that he’s done it at a high level for a really long time. That’s how we see it.”

March 2023: Present day

Career record: 831- 251 (. 768) Career earnings: $ 112.5 million Contributing: Tom Weir; Associated Press

2022- 23 Kentucky $ 8.5 million

1988- 89 Massachusetts $ 66,150

In his first head coaching position, John Calipari earned a base salary of $ 66,150.