Kenny Payne’s buyout policy in his Louisville contract: This is how much the Jacksonville Jaguars owe their head coach if they fire him.
Kenny Payne’s position as head coach of the University of Louisville men’s basketball team is uncertain, which has made what has happened on the court this past week less important.
For example, Payne was asked the first question at his news conference after U of L’s 22-point win over Pepperdine on Sunday, which was their best game of the 2023–24 season so far. “Was there any possibility that you were in charge for your job today?”
A reporter then asked Payne if he had talked to sports director Josh Heird concerning his job situation, and Payne said no.
This was also his answer to the second question. There were questions because of two stories that came out before the game between the Waves and the Cardinals (5-6, 0-1 ACC).
One, on December 14, from college basketball insider Jeff Goodman, said that Heird met with players that day to “get their thoughts” on Payne or the “entire situation concerning the program” before making a “fairly soon” decision about his future.
The other, from December 15 and from CBS Sports’ Matt Norlander, said that Payne’s firing is “likely to happen sooner than expected later” and that Heird “won’t drag this out across the course of the season.”
On Thursday, Payne, 57, will lead his alma school in a rivalry game against No. 9 Kentucky at the KFC Yum! Center. Payne has a 9-34 record as head coach of his old team.
Kenny Payne, a former assistant coach for the Cardinals and Kentucky, was officially hired as the new head coach of the men’s basketball team by the University of Louisville Athletic Association on Friday.
“I want to thank President Gonzalez to this incredible opportunity to come back to a place that means everything to me to lead our renowned basketball program,” Payne said in a statement.
“I see challenges, but I also see opportunities. If we work together, we can do anything.” The people in our town and fans deserve a championship basketball team made up of great and honorable athletes, and it is my job to make that happen. I am so excited to begin.”
Six years, from March 21, 2022, to March 31, 2028, Payne’s contract will end. His base pay will be $3.35 million each year.
He will also get a $300,000 bonus if he stays with the company until April 1, 2025, and a $1 million bonus if he stays with the company until April 1, 2028.
There is also NCAA protection built into his deal. There will be no postseason bans for Payne if the NCAA finds violations from before he started working for the company. His job will be stretched by one year after every such ban.
It’s possible that two extra years will be add to his deal if Louisville gets a two-year postseason ban.
As expected, the NCAA Tournament has given him a lot of benefits, especially for his first and second trips to the Big Dance.
That’s when he’ll get $100,000 for making it to the competition, $150,000 for making it to the Round of 32, $250,000 for making it to the Sweet Sixteen, $300,000 for making it to the Elite Eight, and $400,000 for making it to the Final Four. The raises don’t add up and are based on the top level reached.
After his second NCAA Tournament performance, his bonuses go back to being based on how many times he played.
Make $25,000 if he made it to the playoffs and the Round of 32. Make $50,000 if he made it to the Sweet Sixteen.
Make $75,000 if he made it to the Elite Eight. And make $100,000 if he made it to the Final Four.
Payne is eligible for a one-time bonus of $250,000 if he wins the league title. One-time awards of $25,000 for being named Conference Coach of the Year and $50,000 for being named National Coach of the Year, ACC Regular Season Champion or Co-Champion, and ACC Tournament Champion were also given this year.
Is the buyout for him split into two parts? If Payne is fired without a good reason, his pay starts at $10 million in the first year of his deal and goes down by $2 million every year except for years 5 and 6, when it goes down by $1 million.
If he quits and finds another job, the buyout changes a little. It starts at $3 million and goes down by $50,000 every year.
If the job he leaves for is as a head coach in the NBA, it starts at $3 million and goes down to $1.5 million, $1 million, $500,000, $250,000, and finally $0 after the first year.
The former Trinity star quarterback played for Head Coach Howard Schnellenberger at the University of Louisville from 1989 to 1993.
After that, he went back to Louisville in 2003 and worked as an assistant coach for Bobby Petrino and Steve Kragthorpe for the next six years.
Brohm became the head football coach at Western Kentucky in 2014. In his three years there, he led the Hilltoppers to 30 wins and only 10 losses.
Upon accepting the head coaching job at Purdue University in 2017, he brought life to a team that hadn’t won more than three games in a season since 2012.
In his six years with the West Lafayette Boilermakers, they made it to a bowl game four times.
His teams at Purdue also beat three of the top five teams, which is something the University of Louisville hasn’t done since 2016. It would be the end of Jeff Brohm’s time at Purdue if they won the Big Ten West title in 2022.