Those of us in the media owe the folks at Kentucky a nice, firm handshake right now.
The Wildcats on Tuesday announced dual extensions for Mark Stoops and John Calipari, which is unusual but not unprecedented. Kentucky also included financial terms in the announcement -- a step most public schools don't take, curiously, since all it does is delay the dollar figures getting out until their local media outlets can obtain them through the Freedom of Information Act.
But Kentucky went a step further than that. They published in detail the entire contractual terms for both coaches' entire contracts.
Take a look for yourself below.
Stoops's base salary started at $1.3 million and will rise to $4.75 million by 2022. He would take home a grand total of $7 million that season if reaching all available bonus marks. In 2017 Stoops will earn $3.5 million in guaranteed compensation with $200,000 for an SEC East title, $250,000 for each win beyond the 7-win mark and $200,000 for reaching the CFP national championship.
Kentucky would owe Stoops 75 percent of the remaining guaranteed money upon firing him without cause, while Stoops's buyout for leaving sits at only $1 million.
Stoops is 19-30 in four seasons on the bluegrass, rising from 2-10 in his 2013 debut season to 7-6 with a TaxSlayer Bowl appearance in 2016.
“The last four years have been a grind for Mark and his staff, but he has never wavered in his commitment to building Kentucky football into a consistent winner,” Kentucky AD Mitch Barnhart said in a statement. “While the work isn’t close to finished, we believe Mark is the coach to take us there. We are thankful to Mark and Chantel for all they have done to this point and we look forward to our program’s bright future under his leadership.”
For those curious, here's the Calipari contract:
“The last eight years at the University of Kentucky have been a terrific ride,” Calipari said. “This extension shows our full commitment to each other. I believe this school is the gold standard and I’m so thankful and blessed that this university has given me this opportunity at this point in my career.”
As always, stay tuned to The Scoop for the latest.