John Calipari has finally signed his “lifetime” contract with Kentucky, and he will be paid handsomely over the next eight years.
The head coaching job at Kentucky is an extremely desirable position, and whoever has that job will draw attention from other teams seeking a marquee name to fill their post. That has certainly been the case with John Calipari, who spoke to UCLA in April before agreeing to sign a lifetime contract with the Wildcats.
That deal has finally been signed, and it turns out “lifetime” for Calipari only extends through the 2026-2027 season. Calipari will be paid handsomely for his services, earning up to $86 million if he completes the term of the deal, which also contains some interesting conditions.
There is no longer a retention bonus in Calipari’s contract, which means he won’t get paid just to stay at the school. This makes sense since Kentucky views this deal as Calipari’s last with the program, which would carry Calipari until he is 68 years old.
Calipari now also has the option to step down beginning in the sixth year of the deal and move into a special position where he serves as a special assistant to the athletic director. That job would still pay Calipari nearly a million dollars a year, and it would offer much less stress than his current coaching job would.
The unique arrangement suits Calipari, who has been a target of NBA teams for years now but has turned down every opportunity to stay at Kentucky. Only the great Adolph Rupp has won at a more spectacular clip than Calipari at Kentucky, so the Wildcats are willing to do whatever it takes to keep Coach Cal happy.
Since Kentucky has defined “lifetime” as eight years for Calipari, it will be interesting to see how much of the contract he actually fulfills. The NBA rumors certainly won’t go away, but for now it looks like Calipari will be a Wildcat for as long as he wants (while being extremely well compensated for his trouble).