The Kansas Jayhawks have just agreed to a lifetime contract with Hall-of-Fame head coach Bill Self.
Bill Self has been the head coach of the Kansas Jayhawks men’s basketball team since 2003. Roy Williams left for UNC to open the position, and the rest is history. Now Williams is retiring, and the Jayhawks want to make sure Self never has any plans to leave.
News dropped Friday afternoon that Self and the program have agreed to what is essentially a lifetime contract.
Kansas announced today that Bill Self has signed a lifetime contract with the Jayhawks.
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) April 2, 2021
His current contract is being replaced with a new five-year rolling agreement that automatically adds one year at the conclusion of each season for the remainder of his career. pic.twitter.com/XZgCvxaTFO
Bill Self is in Kansas for life
The 58-year-old Self already had plenty of job security and is now set to ride out the remainder of his legendary career in Kansas.
One interesting note about this is that Self and the program may still face major NCAA sanctions for recruiting violations. The head coach made sure that even if he faces a suspension, he will still get paid.
Incredible. Bill Self got it in writing that they can't fire him for the current NCAA case.
— Stewart Mandel (@slmandel) April 2, 2021
Even if he gets suspended, he gets half his salary. https://t.co/Q9gDl9JGyB
The Jayhawks have made the NCAA Tournament every year since Self arrived and he won the national championship in 2008. Fans are desperate for another title, but even winning one NCAA Tournament is a major accomplishment given the nature of the event itself.
This lifetime contract is a strong statement about how much the program cares about potential infractions. Self is seen as a much bigger positive than any negatives a suspension could ever bring. He is still going to be able to recruit at a high level and the program is happy about that.
Kansas offered up a big “we don’t care” to the NCAA with this deal, and Self is fireproof for as long as he wants to keep his job. Based on his current resume, it is hard to imagine some steep decline and the program clearly feels the same.
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