It's official: Arkansas is now Cal-ing the Hogs. Arkansas has completed its acquisition of John Calipari, a move that may be more of a corporate merger than a coaching hire.
Twelve seasons removed from his only national title and nine seasons removed from his last Final Four run, the move is the hardwood version of Jimbo Fisher-to-Texas A&M until proven otherwise. We'll see. From a business perspective, it's even more fascinating.
Calipari will take a slight pay cut in moving from Lexington to Fayetteville. He was set to earn $9 million each of the next four years, but will make $7 million in salary (plus a $1 million signing bonus) next season.
John Calipari's contract is a 5-year deal that starts at $7 million, and includes a $1 million signing bonus.
— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanHoops) April 10, 2024
Also includes a maximum of two automatic rollover years for NCAA tourney appearances that would extend the deal through 2031.
News conference is today at 6 pm at Bud…
Bill Self is the king of college basketball economics, having signed a "lifetime" deal that guarantees him $53 million over the first five seasons.
But Cal's new, smaller deal will take him from second among college basketball coaches to... second. Michigan State's Tom Izzo was in third this season at $6.2 million. Auburn's Bruce Pearl and Tennessee's Rick Barnes were next, in the $5.7 million range. UConn's Dan Hurley signed a new 6-year deal after his first title that tops out at $5.8 million in 2028-29.
Where would the Arkansas deal put Calipari among football coaches? Let's find out:
$11 million: Lincoln Riley, USC*; Dabo Swinney, Clemson
$10.75 million: Kirby Smart, Georgia
$10.3 million: Steve Sarkisian, Texas
$10 million: Kalen DeBoer, Alabama
$9.785 million: Mike Norvell, Florida State
$9.5 million: Ryan Day, Ohio State
$9.2 million: Brian Kelly, LSU
$9 million: Eli Drinkwitz, Missouri; Josh Heupel, Tennessee; Mark Stoops, Kentucky
$8.85 million: Lane Kiffin, Ole Miss
$8.5 million: James Franklin, Penn State
$8 million: Mario Cristobal, Miami*
$7.75 million: Mike Gundy, Oklahoma State
$7.6 million: Luke Fickell, Wisconsin
$7.5 million: Jedd Fisch, Washington; Jonathan Smith, Michigan State; Matt Rhule, Nebraska
$7.3 million: Billy Napier, Florida
$7.2 million: Dan Lanning, Oregon; Brent Venables, Oklahoma
$7 million: Mike Elko, Texas A&M
* - Reported average annual value
So, there you have it. Nothing shocking, but it's instructive to see the economic differences laid out between football and basketball. Calipari's contract at Arkansas places him second in his sport, but he'd be clinging to the top 25 in our sport. A decade and a half in SEC basketball puts him on par with a first-year SEC head football coach in Texas A&M's Mike Elko.
But he will be the highest-paid coach on his own campus. Sam Pittman earns around $6.5 million to coach the Hogs' football team.
This means one thing and one thing only. Cal won't take his contract with him from from Kentucky to Arkansas, but he will bring an age-old debate: is Arkansas a football school or a basketball school?
As always, stay tuned to The Scoop for the latest.