As money finally funnels its way to the players in men’s college basketball, the coaches have continued to cash in big. Major openings in recent offseasons and a budding dynasty in Storrs have driven the price tag up across the sport.
All 10 of the highest-paid coaches in men’s college basketball have signed their extension or new contract within the last three years, and four signed their deals in either 2024 or 2025. With a new crop of young coaches taking over blue-blood jobs from established legends, salaries will only continue to rise, but for now, it’s one of those living legends and a two-time national champion who claims the top spot as the highest-paid coach in 2025, at least among the school’s that are forced to disclose their coach’s salary.
While the details of some contracts have been reported, private universities are allowed much more, well, privacy, in their dealings. For example, Duke and Jon Scheyer agreed to a six-year contract extension in 2023, but the terms of the deal are not known, so he does not appear on this list. There are reports that list his salary at a mere $1.7 million, but this is difficult to confirm.
1. Bill Self, Kansas, 2025 salary: $8,803,800 Year signed: 2023 Buyout: $23.1 million
Bill Self is on a lifetime deal to remain at Kansas with rolling terms set every five years. Kansas recently reset the terms in 2023, with the Jayhawks and their longtime head coach agreeing to $53 million. Self was paid $13 million in the first year of the deal.
Now at 62 years old, Self has outlasted most of his contemporaries and heads into the 2025-26 season at 13th on the all-time wins list, fourth among active head coaches.
John Calipari hadn’t led Kentucky past the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament since 2019, but that’s not the only reason he left Lexington. Arkansas spent big to attract one of the biggest names and best recruiters in the country, and in 2025, it paid off with a Sweet 16 trip of their own.
With back-to-back national titles on his resume and rumors swirling about NBA interest, UConn handed Dan Hurley a six-year, $50 million extension in 2024.
Like Bill Self, Tom Izzo is locked in for life with Michigan State, also with a five-year rollover structure with a base salary just south of $6 million, which represented a $2 million raise when the two sides re-negotiated in 2022.
Mick Cronin seems to find himself unusually frustrated every season for a coach making more than $6 million to live in LA. The Bruins' move, along with USC, Oregon, and Washington, to the Big Ten means a different level of competition and compensation, so Cronin could be up for an extension soon on his deal that runs through the 2027-28 season.
In 2025, Bruce Pearl led Auburn to the Final Four for the second time, also the program’s second-ever appearance, so it’s not a surprise that he’s one of the highest-paid coaches in the country.
At 70 years old, Rick Barnes is 11th on the all-time wins list and second among active coaches behind Rick Pitino. He has reached the Elite Eight for two consecutive years, but has never led Tennessee to the Final Four.
Scott Drew took over the Baylor basketball program when it was in dire straits in 2003, and built it into the 2021 National Champions. Drew has been a popular target for big-time job openings at Kentucky and Louisville, but has remained loyal to Waco. His contract situation is the murkiest of the 10 coaches on this list because of Baylor’s status as a private institution.
His buyout was reported to be $4.5 million in 2024 when he was rumored for the Kentucky job.
In February 2024, Tommy Lloyd re-upped with Arizona for five years with a base salary of $4.15. However, he quickly realized he was underpaid, and days after getting eliminated in the Sweet 16 of the 2025 NCAA Tournament, Arizona tacked on five additional years with a significant pay increase.
After posting a 16-15 record in his first season in Tuscaloosa, Nate Oats has positioned Alabama as an SEC and national title contender every year since. Following the Tide’s run to the Final Four in 2024, Oats cashed in with a new contract extension, which represented a raise over the extension he had previously signed in February 2024.