Rick Barnes has received a lifetime contract with Tennessee basketball amid the most successful run in the program’s history.
In essence, the contract allows Barnes to coach at Tennessee for as long as he wants until he chooses to retire.
“I am incredibly thankful God brought me to the University of Tennessee 10-and-a-half years ago,” Barnes said in a school release. “It is an honor and a blessing to serve as the head basketball coach here.”
Barnes’ contract sets his salary at $6 million annually. The initial term upon execution of the deal is slated to run through April 15, 2028. The contract will automatically extend every April 15 to always have three years remaining on the contract.
The Vols coach has guided UT to back-to-back Elite Eights after it had one prior appearance. He is 232-109 in 10 seasons. The Hickory, North Carolina, native has led Tennessee to six 25-win seasons, three SEC titles, seven NCAA Tournaments, four Sweet 16s and two Elite Eights.
The contract states the new deal “recognizes and rewards a lifetime of coaching success that continues to build upon itself and add to the basketball legacies of all those involved.”
“Rick has taken our program to unprecedented heights, and we are absolutely thrilled to have him continue coaching on Rocky Top for the rest of his career,” UT athletics director Danny White said. “He has constructed this program the right way, achieving elite-level success on the court while also ensuring that all our players excel off the court.”
Tennessee has been ranked for 80 consecutive weeks in the Associated Press poll, the second-longest active streak in the nation. It has been ranked nonstop since the start of the 2021-22 season. UT spent multiple weeks as the No. 1 team in the 2018-19 and 2024-25 seasons.
Rick Barnes receives lifetime contract with Tennessee basketball
Barnes’ new contract makes him the seventh highest-paid coach in college basketball.
His salary for next season will be $6.2 million because of a signing bonus. He trails Kansas’ Bill Self, Arkansas’ John Calipari, UConn’s Danny Hurley, Michigan State’s Tom Izzo, Illinois’ Brad Underwood and Auburn’s Bruce Pearl in expected compensation for the 2025-26 season, according to documents obtained by the USA TODAY Network.
Barnes, 71, received a $200,000 bonus as part of the lifetime contract “in recognition of exemplary athletic and academic performances by the men’s basketball team” and to continue to work toward regular season and postseason success.
He earned $5.8 million last year and triggered $1.3 million in bonuses for the 2024-25 season to earn $7.1 million.
Tennessee would owe Barnes 100% of his remaining salary if it fired him without cause before April 15, 2028. It would not owe Barnes anything if he was fired after that date. Barnes does not owe Tennessee anything if he chooses to retire. He would owe UT $1 million per year on his remaining contract if he accepted a head coaching job elsewhere within two years of leaving Tennessee.
The contract language permits either Tennessee or Barnes to “after consultation and coordination with the other party in good faith” to notify the other party of intent to allow the contract to expire at the end of the current contract year and stop any automatic renewal on or after April 15, 2028.
Barnes signed a six-year contract worth $13.5 million to become Tennessee’s head coach in April 2015. His original deal paid him $2.25 million annually, placing him No. 35 nationally among college basketball coaches entering the 2017-18 season. It also was 10th out of 14 SEC coaches.
He has also been the head coach at Texas, Clemson, Providence and George Mason.
Rick Barnes’ previous contracts and contract extensions
Barnes’ most recent extension was signed in September 2023. It was worth $29.4 million over five years, which equals an average annual salary of $5.88 million.
He was slated to earn $5.9 million in the current year of his prior deal, which spanned May 1, 2025 through April 30, 2026. He would have earned $6 million on the final two years of that contract.
Barnes received a one-year contract extension in March 2022. The five years on that contract were worth an average annual salary of $5.77 million during the remaining five seasons.
Barnes received a two-year extension in July 2021, which ran through the 2025-26 season. That extension included an annual raise of $100,000 in each of the final two years of the contract. His April 2019 contract increased his pay by $250,000 annually.
He agreed to an amended contract in April 2019 that paid him an average annual salary of $5.2 million following interest from UCLA.
Barnes’ 2018 contract extension was worth $21 million over six years, an average salary of $3.5 million per year.
Mike Wilson covers University of Tennessee athletics. Email him at michael.wilson@knoxnews.com and follow him on X @ByMikeWilson or Bluesky @bymikewilson.bsky.social. If you enjoy Mike’s coverage, consider a digital subscription that will allow you access to all of it.