Kentucky Has Reportedly Offered John Calipari A LIFETIME Contract And It's The Smartest Move They Could Make
[The Athletic] - The? University? of Kentucky has offered John Calipari what? is? essentially? a lifetime? contract extension? in response? to a lucrative?? offer the coach has received from UCLA, The Athletic has learned.
UCLA offered Calipari a contract worth approximately $48 million over six years, according to a source with direct knowledge of the situation. The contacts between Calipari and UCLA have been more extensive than previously reported, but Calipari told UCLA last week he is not interested in leaving Kentucky.
The school is not looking to substantially enhance Calipari’s annual compensation, but the new contract would include a 10-year term as coach plus a promise to serve as a paid ambassador for the school after his retirement. Calipari’s current contract runs through 2024, after an extension in 2017.
Well, uh, holy shit this is pretty big. Hold on let me use some videos or gifs to put my thoughts into that:
This is such an awesome move. It had to be done. Sure, there was some interest in the UCLA job and obviously a TON of interest from the UCLA side. But, Cal wants to be at Kentucky. This is the best thing the school could have done.
I blogged it earlier today. If you don’t want John Calipari as your head coach at Kentucky, you don’t deserve to watch another game. He’s been at Kentucky for 10 years. In that time he’s No. 1 in Final Fours, Elite Eights and Sweet 16s. Only K and Wright have won multiple titles as a head coach in that same time frame. THAT’S PRETTY FUCKING GOOD.
More importantly this shows that Kentucky doesn’t want to move on. It’s smart. Reward Calipari for making this program relevant and a monster again. Remember the time before him? I do. I was there for the last two years of Tubby and the two years of Gillispie. You know what sucked? Those 4 years.
There’s no one better at Kentucky than Calipari. It’s more than a regular job. You need someone with the personality to handle #BBN. He does that. So let’s ride Coach Cal. From your lifetime to mine, this contract is 100% worth it.