UNC basketball coach Michael Malone's contract details, buyout revealed

North Carolina signed new men’s basketball coach Michael Malone to a six-year, $50-million deal Tuesday that makes him one of the highest-paid coaches in the sport, according to a copy of his term sheet obtained by On3.

Malone will average $8.3 million per year over the course of the agreement. His salary begins at $7.5 million in Year 1, which would have made him the fourth-highest paid coach in men’s college basketball this past season, according to a USA Today database. Kansas’ Bill Self led the country at $8.8 million, followed by Arkansas’ John Calipari and UConn’s Dan Hurley.

Malone’s salary will increase to $8 million in his second year. It rises to $8.5 million for the next three years and reaches $9 million in the final year of his deal during the 2031-32 season. He can also earn up to $1.475 million in performance-based incentives.

The contract states UNC will spend at least $6.75 million on revenue sharing and up to $4 million for his assistant coaches and support staff.

If UNC fires Malone without cause, it would owe him 80% of his remaining salary, which is subject to mitigation and would be offset if he gets another job as a basketball coach within the term. Malone’s personal buyout begins at $8 million if he leaves before April 1, 2027, and decreases by $1.5 million per year thereafter.

Malone, 54, won the 2023 NBA championship with the Denver Nuggets and spent 12 seasons as a head coach in the league. After firing Hubert Davis, the Tar Heels searched for a new coach for nearly two weeks. They finalized the hire Tuesday, the day the transfer portal opened.

Davis was fired with four years remaining on his deal, resulting in a roughly $5.31 million buyout that would be offset if he gets another job. Davis would have made $3.15 million next season. He signed a contract extension less than two years ago, but UNC made a change after two straight exits in the first round of the NCAA tournament, the latest a collapse against VCU.

Malone compiled a 510-394 across 12 seasons with Denver and the Sacramento Kings. After being fired by the Nuggets in April 2025, he spent most of the past year as an ESPN analyst. Malone was a top candidate in the New Orleans Pelicans’ coaching search, according to On3’s Pete Nakos, before he accepted the UNC job. He has not coached in college since he was a Manhattan assistant in 2001, and he has never been a head coach at this level.

As UNC searched for Davis’ replacement, it focused on Arizona’s Tommy Lloyd and Michigan’s Dusty May. Lloyd signed a contract extension with the Wildcats, and May decided not to pursue other college jobs. Though Chicago Bulls coach Billy Donovan was a candidate, the potential for hiring him was complicated by the NBA regular season not ending until April 12.