‘I'm a Gator for a long time’: Todd Golden talks new deal, NBA buyout

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — After winning the national championship in his third year, Todd Golden was signed by Florida for twice that amount. The Gators locked Golden up on May 5 with a six-year, $40.5 million deal that pays him $6.75M annually.

Golden, 39, became the youngest coach in more than four decades (Jim Valvano, 1983, 37) to win a title. He also tied the school record for wins (36-4), won the SEC Tournament title and produced UF’s only first-team All-American in Walter Clayton Jr.

The new contract makes Golden the fourth-highest paid coach in college basketball, which Gators Online first reported, and extends him through 2030-31. After playing and coaching in California, Golden has made himself at home in Gainesville.

“This is a great place for my family. I think we’ve proven in a short period of time that we can have great success here. We’re in a really good spot. The heavy lifting has been done. We have our program in a really healthy spot. We have great people supporting our program I think through Florida Victorious and the different people that have made our program and our recruiting sustainable.

“That’s something that’s really, really important in this new landscape of college athletics,” Golden said. “As a coach, you just want the opportunity to be successful. Scott [Stricklin] and our whole team have kind of made that very obvious that we can do it here. … My hope is that we can continue. Obviously, we have a lot to live up to now moving forward, but we’ll do the best we can.”

In addition to Golden’s salary increase, one of the big takeaways from his new deal was the buyout. UF increased his buyout to $16,000,000 in 2025-26, $11M in 26-27 and $4M in 27-28 before decreasing by $1 million the final three years.

However, his NBA buyout is only $3M in 2025-26, $2M for the next two years, $1M in 2028-29 and $0 his last two years. Florida’s biggest priority is keeping another school from hiring Golden away, so it agreed to the difference for the league.

For Golden, he wanted to have the option but isn’t looking to leave the Gators.

“I think it’s more of just kind of keeping that opportunity potentially available down the road. That’s not necessarily something that I’m thinking about right now a whole lot. But, you know, these contracts, it’s like real-life stuff, right? So you gotta make sure that you give yourself a little bit of opportunity that way,” Golden said.

“In terms of the college game, like, I’m here at Florida for a long time. It’s everything I need, everything my family needs. And, you know, I don’t necessarily anticipate the NBA being something that’s super enticing anytime soon. But again, just the optionality is something that’s important to us, but I’m a Gator for a long time.”

Golden’s raises in each year of his new deal could keep it that way and provide less financial incentive for him to make the jump to the next level. He will make $6 million in 2025-26 and his salary increases by $300,000 every year until reaching $7.5 million in 2030-31.

Only 11 of 30 NBA coaches earned more than $7.5 million this season, and Golden with his bonuses now makes more than Billy Donovan. Only Bill Self ($8.8M last year), John Calipari ($8M) and Dan Hurley ($7.7M) earn more than Golden annually at the collegiate level.

“I just feel super grateful for the university,” Golden said. “We did it, but then they gave us credit for it. And giving me the opportunity to take care of my coaches was something that was really, really important. So, we’ve done that. And, I mean, it’s a little surreal, but we’ve achieved some great things, and the goal is to continue moving on.”