Spurs: Gregg Popovich’s new deal gives both sides an out, sort of

The San Antonio Spurs and head coach Gregg Popovich agreed to terms on a contract extension. What if Popovich doesn’t coach the full contract?

To say the San Antonio Spurs had an eventful offseason is quite an understatement. They were the biggest winners of the 2023 NBA Draft because they won the lottery for the No. 1 pick. With that, they were allowed to select French phenom prospect Victor Wembanyama. With that, the jokes came flying in that Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich would never retire, now that he gets the chance to coach yet another generational big man.

As it turns out, retirement isn’t in Popovich’s plans as of yet.

According to ESPN senior NBA insider Adrian Wojnarowski, the Spurs and Popovich agreed to terms on a five-year contract extension worth more than $80 million. With that, Popovich is now the highest-paid head coach in the NBA, beating Monty Williams, who received a six-year, $78.5 million deal with the Detroit Pistons.

What if Popovich doesn’t coach the entirety of the contract?

Spurs, Gregg Popovich agree to new record-breaking contract

According to Wojnarowski, since Popovich is the Spur’s head coach and president of basketball operations, “it’s possible his new deal allows him to earn out the contract even if he doesn’t coach the full five years of the deal.”

Popovich was a former assistant coach for the Spurs from 1988 until 1992 before leaving for the Golden State Warriors. He would become San Antonio’s general manager in 1994 and eventually took over as the head coach during the 1996-97 season after firing Bob Hill. The rest was literal history for Popovich and the Spurs franchise.

Since taking over, Popovich led the Spurs to five NBA Championships (1999, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2014), while earning three Coach of the Year awards (2003, 2012, 2014). Back on March 11, 2022, Popovich became the winningest head coach in NBA history with 1,366 after the Spurs defeated the Utah Jazz.

As of this past season, Popovich has a 1,366-761 record in the regular season. In the playoffs, Popovich has a 171-111 overall record. He is behind Pat Riley for second in playoff wins (172), and 59 games back of Phil Jackson for first (229).

There was uncertainty regarding Popovich’s coaching future. Now, he is under contract through the 2027-28 season.