Chris Beard’s new deal tops Bill Self’s by one measurement, but not in average value

Texas Tech has made Chris Beard one of the nation’s top-paid coaches in college basketball after he led the Red Raiders to their first national championship game, as he received a new contract Monday that will pay him an average of $4.575 million annually through the 2024-25 season.

Beard’s $4.2 million salary for next season, according to the Dallas Morning News, would appear to be the third-richest among college basketball coaches, according to USA Today’s database, and ahead of current Kansas coach Bill Self, who made $4,066,857 in 2018-19.

Saying that, though, depends on one’s interpretation. Self’s contract changed this past season, as he is to be paid $1.5 million per year in a retention bonus over the next four years if he remains the coach at KU on March 31, 2022; however, unlike previous retention payments, Self will only receive this one in a lump sum if he completes the contract, meaning he will be owed the full $6 million in 2022 if he stays.

So if one were to forward count that $1.5 million toward this year’s contract instead of moving that money to the future ... Self’s $5.57 million salary in 2019-20 would more than $1 million higher than Beard’s average annual salary. Self’s 10-year contract, when signed, was reported to be worth an average of $5.2 million annually, almost $700,000 more than Beard’s average.

Regardless, the new Beard deal came three weeks after Texas Tech, the Big 12 co-champion, lost in overtime to Virginia in the national title game.

“In only three years, Chris Beard has elevated Texas Tech to the upper echelon of college basketball,” athletic director Kirby Hocutt said. “The 2018 Elite Eight, and this year’s appearance in the national championship game has raised the entire profile of Texas Tech athletics and is a source of great pride for all Red Raiders.”

It is the second year in a row that Beard has been rewarded with a new contract. The Red Raiders won a school-record 31 games this season, a year after going to the Elite Eight for the first time.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

This story was originally published April 29, 2019 at 8:22 PM.