Chapel Hill, NC \u2014 New North Carolina men\u2019s basketball coach Michael Malone, an NBA championship head coach who has never been a head coach in college, will be one of the highest-paid college basketball coaches in the country.<\/p>\n
Malone, 54, signed a six-year contract worth $50 million, according to his term sheet. WRAL first reported<\/a> the years and value of his contract, which will pay him an average of $8.33 million per year. Kansas’ Bill Self is the only public school men’s basketball coach in the country with a higher average salary, according to USA Today’s salary database<\/a>. Self has won two NCAA titles.<\/p>\n Malone will be paid $7.5 million in the first year of the contract, which runs through June 30, 2027. His salary increases to $8 million the next year, then $8.5 million for three seasons before topping out at $9 million in the final season of his contract.<\/p>\n \u201cHis track record, he warrants that type of compensation,\u201d said North Carolina athletics director-in-waiting Steve Newmark, who led the search for the new coach and flew to Colorado on Easter Sunday to convince Malone to take the job. \u201cWe also believe this institution and where it sits in the basketball hierarchy should be paying for what we believe is elite.\u201d<\/p>\n Malone can earn up to $1.4 million in on-court performance bonuses, including $500,000 for winning the NCAA Tournament. Malone can earn up to $75,000 for his team\u2019s academic performance.<\/p>\n Malone coached part of 12 seasons in the NBA, including 10 with the Denver Nuggets. He led Denver to the 2023 NBA title. Malone was fired near the end of the 2025 season and spent the last season on ESPN and visiting Chapel Hill to see his daughter play volleyball. Malone was expected to be one of the top candidates for NBA jobs this offseason.<\/p>\n \u201cIf you look at where he has been compensated in the NBA, he\u2019s taking this because he\u2019s passionate about it,\u201d Newmark said.<\/p>\n Under the terms of the contract, North Carolina will commit at least $6.75 million annually in revenue sharing to men\u2019s basketball. The school committed $7 million of the $20.5 million in revenue sharing cap to men\u2019s basketball for the 2025-26 season. The cap will increase each year.<\/p>\n \u201cWe need to provide him the resources that enable him to succeed,\u201d Newmark said.<\/p>\n Malone will also have a salary pool of up to $4 million for assistant coaches and full-time support staff.<\/p>\n \u201cWe fixate a lot on the economics and I understand it because it\u2019s new and different in college sports,\u201d Newmark said. \u201cBut it\u2019s our obligation in the athletic department to equip Coach Malone with what he needs to succeed.\u201d<\/p>\n The Tar Heels signed football coach Bill Belichick to a five-year, $50-million dollar contract with the first three years guaranteed in 2025.<\/p>\n “It is a big commitment, and we understand that, and we do it with the knowledge that if we want to compete at the highest level, that’s really what the stakes are these days,” UNC Trustee Ritch Allison said Tuesday. The board approved the contract earlier in the day. “And we can’t shortchange our ability to continue the great tradition of this program by being penny wise and pound foolish. These sports of men’s basketball and football, they provide so much additional capacity for us to fund the other 26 sports that we have at Carolina. And I can promise you, as a trustee, we’ve got deep commitment to those nonrevenue generating sports and also just this basketball program adds to the Carolina brand.”<\/p>\n Malone will report to UNC’s athletics director, which is held by Bubba Cunningham. Newmark will take over the role on July 1.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cHe wants a partner in this,\u201d Malone said of Newmark. \u201cHe\u2019s looking to hire a coach that, yes, is innovative, has character, understands the tradition of excellence here at Carolina, but he also wants to hire a coach that he can be a partner with and build something special.\u201d<\/p>\n