Kentucky Wildcats would not have expected their 15-year-long head coach, John Calipari, to announce his departure last year. He was the man who had led the college program to their only championship ring this century in 2012. However, ever since then, the title remained elusive of the head coach’s reach and last season failure meant the team had not reached Final Four since a decade. Therefore, Calipari, the coach who was getting second highest pay nationally at Kentucky, decided to leave and left the room for a new master in office: Mark Pope.

The Kentucky university, whom most expected to bring someone with a lot of experience under his belt, surprised everyone with their alum, Mark Pope. With a resume boasting no title as a coach, Kentucky saving its expenditure was a speculation. But not really. His contract might be as not impressive as Calipari, but is quite decent.

Mark Pope’s Contract at Kentucky: A big leap to elite pay despite limited experience

The 52-year-old has taken the Kentucky’s hot seat, making it only the third team where he is in that top level coaching position. Before taking the reins with the Wildcats, Pope led Utah Valley from 2015 to 2019, followed by a successful stint with the BYU Cougars from 2019 to 2024. Although he doesn’t yet have a decade of experience at this elite level, the Wildcats have placed their faith in him by offering a contract that is expected to rank him among the top 10 highest-paid coaches in college basketball.

Mark Pope secured a long-term commitment with the Kentucky Wildcats, signing a five-year deal of $27.5 million. According to CBS Sports senior writer Matt Norlander, Pope will earn an impressive average of $5.5 million per year, making it clear that Kentucky is confident in his leadership for the long haul.

That contract means he would have gotten sixth place on list of highest paid coach in the nation, with figures that even surpassed those of UConn’s Dan Hurley ($5 million) during his championship-winning season. At the top of the list is Kansas head coach Bill Self, who brings in an impressive $9.6 million annually.

Pope’s financial details during his time at Utah Valley and BYU aren’t widely known, but we can safely assume his pay wasn’t on the high end, given his teams’ records. While Pope did a commendable job with both programs, BYU never advanced past the Elite Eight, and Utah had just one conference regular-season championship to show for its efforts. A USA Today list of highest-paid college coaches released in March 2024 placed his name in the 82nd spot, though it did not mention a figure.

So, while Pope’s leadership was certainly valuable, the financial rewards likely didn’t reflect the national prominence he’s now achieving with Kentucky. However, there’s one factor that would definitely cut down his salary at his alma mater by a state set margin—something he probably didn’t have to worry about at BYU.

Comparison and taxes

The reason behind details of Pope’s contract at BYU remaining unclear is largely because it’s a private institution. This means the school doesn’t have to disclose his salary or buyout under federal tax filing laws. However, Kentucky operates as a state university, which means Pope’s contract is subject to public records laws. This makes his salary and contract details more transparent, and it also requires him to pay taxes according to those regulations, resulting in a marginal cut to his actual salary.

While Pope may have been paying other taxes during his time at BYU, he wasn’t subject to state or federal taxes in the same way he is now at Kentucky. Interestingly, Pope’s salary is not a significant drop when compared to his predecessor, John Calipari. Calipari’s final season at Kentucky came with a $7 million contract, even though the team didn’t make it past the Round of 32.

Therefore, the difference between Calipari’s salary and Pope’s is just $1.5 million. Considering Calipari’s 36-year career compared to Pope’s relatively short tenure as a head coach, that gap is quite insignificant. He started his assistant coaching career with a mere $24,000 salary, dropping out of a medical school and while a father of 4. It was a huge step and now he is here. 101,851% return in earnings.

Pope made an impressive start with Kentucky, leading the team to three wins as of November 13, 2024. It’s clear that Pope’s leadership is off to a strong beginning, and the Wildcats are in good hands moving forward.

“I think they hired a perfect guy for that job. And part of it is because he played there, graduated from there. He has a heart for the place, and he has an idea of what that is,” Calipari himself said about Pope being chosen as his successor at Kentucky. This sentiment helps explain why Pope’s multi-million dollar contract makes perfect sense—he’s not just a talented coach, but someone who truly understands the culture and legacy of Kentucky basketball.