Dawn Staley became the highest-paid coach in college women’s basketball history on Friday morning, which has a direct impact on a clause in Lady Vols coach Kim Caldwell’s contract.
Staley’s new contract is effective immediately. It will run through the 2029-30 season and will pay her an annual salary of $4 million with a $250,000 increase every season. It also includes a $500,000 signing bonus to make the total value approximately $25.25 million.
Dawn Staley’s contract matters for Caldwell because of a championship clause in her contract.
Tennessee athletics director Danny White put the clause in the contract for the next Lady Vols basketball coach even before he knew who he would hire to replace Kellie Harper in April. The contract that Caldwell signed guarantees she will become the highest-paid coach in the country if she wins a national championship.
The clause specifically states that if the women’s basketball team wins the NCAA national championship, Caldwell will receive a raise on or before May 1 following the end of the season that would make her annual compensation “equal or exceed the highest salary of any head coach of a women’s basketball team in Division I of the NCAA based on publicly available salary data on the date of such achievement.”
“We wanted to make it very clear that investment and how serious we are about getting our women’s basketball program back to the top is in no question at all,” White said in April. “She has our full support and will continue to have it.”
When Caldwell signed the contract, LSU coach Kim Mulkey was the highest-paid coach in the country. Mulkey signed a 10-year, $32 million deal in September 2023 after winning the 2023 NCAA championship, and her total salary is $3.264 million per season.
The bar was raised by Staley when the South Carolina board of trustees approved a new contract for the Gamecocks coach Friday morning.
Staley’s previous contract paid her $3.1 million, which matched UConn coach Geno Auriemma’s salary of $3.1 million as of March 2024.
Caldwell signed a five-year contract worth $3.75 million in April. She will be paid $750,000 annually through March 31, 2029 – unless she wins a national championship. Caldwell will also receive a $400,000 bonus if Tennessee wins the NCAA Championship.
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In her first season at Tennessee, Caldwell led the Lady Vols to a 13-0 start, which was their best start to a season since going 15-0 in 2017-18. She did that while pregnant with her first child and is due to have the baby “any day now.” It will be her first child with her husband, Justin Caldwell.
The Lady Vols won eight national championship during legendary coach Pat Summitt’s tenure. The last two were won back-to-back in 2007 and 2008 during Tennessee great Candace Parker’s final two seasons. The Lady Vols haven’t been back to the Final Four since.
Cora Hall covers University of Tennessee women’s athletics. Email her at cora.hall@knoxnews.com and follow her on Twitter @corahalll. If you enjoy Cora’s coverage, consider a digital subscription that allows you to access all of it.
This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Kim Caldwell contract: Dawn Staley salary impacts Lady Vols coach
