Here’s how much Mizzou Tigers will pay new men’s basketball coach Dennis Gates
Several days after Dennis Gates was hired as the Missouri Tigers men’s basketball coach, there is clarity on his salary details.
Gates agreed to a six-year contract worth at least $16.5 million, starting with a $2.5 million base salary and supplemental income in his first season, according to a copy of a memorandum of understanding signed by Gates and athletic director Desiree Reed-Francois on March 18 and obtained Friday by The Star.
The memorandum “presents the material terms” of Mizzou’s offer to Gates, which will be expanded into a full employment contract “at the earliest possible date.” Missouri’s Board of Curators approved Gates’ hiring on Tuesday.
According to the memorandum, Gates’ annual base salary and supplemental compensation will increase each year by $100,000. By the 2027-28 season, the final year of the contract, he will make at least $3 million annually.
This is a slight drop from former coach Cuonzo Martin’s contract, which was worth $21 million over seven years. By the time he was hired, Martin was earning $3 million a year, which made him the highest paid coach in school history.
The memorandum also stipulates that Gates will have a salary pool of $915,000 for his three assistant coaches. He has not yet named his staff.
Gates can also earn incentives of up to $655,000 a year, according to the memorandum. He will earn an extra $100,000 for an SEC regular season championship, $50,000 is he is named the league’s coach of the year and $25,000 for a conference tournament title.
Additionally, Gates will get $100,000 is he is named national coach of the year. If the team has a 25-win season, he gets $25,000, and a 30-win season increases to $50,000. An extra $30,000 will be granted if the Tigers win 14 or more conference games.
Gates receives an extra $25,000 for an NCAA Tournament appearance, followed by $25,000 for a Sweet 16, $50,000 for an Elite Eight, $75,000 for a Final Four and $200,000 for a national championship. Those are noncumulative, so he will only get the highest level earned. Other incentives regard academic and social standards and ticket revenue.
As part of the deal, Gates will also receive a country club membership, two courtest cars or a $1,200 monthly automobile stipend, 10 tickets to every home basketball game and eight tickets to every football home game.
Gates’ buyout is not laid out in full in the memorandum.
The document states that a termination by the school without cause “will require payment limited to earned but unpaid salary, supplemental and incentive payments (if any) to the date of termination, plus base salary and supplemental salary paid in equal monthly installments for the remainder of the contract term and subject to your duty to mitigate where the University will only be required to pay the difference, if any, between the total compensation for Coach’s new position and your base salary and supplemental salary from the University.”
In his prior job at Cleveland State, Gates made $550,000 annually. Missouri owed that school a $600,000 buyout upon hiring Gates.
This story was originally published March 25, 2022 at 1:55 PM.
