He hasn’t been to the Final 4 since 2015 and the Championship game since 2012. He’s the highest paid coach so the last few years don’t seem to be a good ROI. I agree with you. 2 or 3 more years of no Final 4s and I bet it will be time to become that ambassador and step down as coach. They won’t fire him though. He will “resign”.Getting bounced in the Elite 8 won't keep KY happy.....they'll turn on him
Cal making $9m at Kentucky is the equivalent of Saban making $35m at Alabama.
I don't think Cal is as overrated as many here do, but at $9m/year, he's definitely overpaid.
He's overpaid because he makes an amount of money equivalent to about one-third of Kentucky's entire basketball revenue. One out of every 3 dollars the basketball program generates, in any given year, goes into Cal's pocket. As a percentage of total revenue, that just seems astronomically high. As a point of comparison, less than one out of every 10 dollars Alabama football makes goes into Saban's pocket. Saban has had far more success at Alabama, and in a higher revenue sport, than Cal has had at Kentucky.Since he got there, he’s been one of the three most successful coaches in the country, and he generates way more than $9 million/year for their program. Why does paying him like a top-3 coach mean he’s overpaid?
BingoHe's overpaid because he makes an amount of money equivalent to about one-third of Kentucky's entire basketball revenue. One out of every 3 dollars the basketball program generates, in any given year, goes into Cal's pocket. As a percentage of total revenue, that just seems astronomically high. As a point of comparison, less than one out of every 10 dollars Alabama football makes goes into Saban's pocket. Saban has had far more success at Alabama, and in a higher revenue sport, than Cal has had at Kentucky.
The single biggest reason the $9m figure is so high isn't because it's a knock on Cal, but because he's the basketball coach. I know most of Kentucky's athletic identity as an institution is wrapped up in basketball, but even at Kentucky, basketball brings in less revenue (and profits) than football. Even at a school like Duke football revenue almost equals basketball revenue. Any school, even a "basketball school," would rather be better at football than basketball. It simply brings in more money, and a school stands to make a lot more money via incremental improvement in the football program than the basketball program.
If Saban made that same percentage of Alabama's football revenue, he'd make about $35m/year. Now, I've argued for years that Saban is underpaid, but even he wouldn't be worth $35m/year.
Since he got to UK, he’s achieved better results (which is what matters) than at least 2, if not all 3.
Cal making $9m at Kentucky is the equivalent of Saban making $35m at Alabama.
I don't think Cal is as overrated as many here do, but at $9m/year, he's definitely overpaid.
Arguable at best, but you can’t ignore their results overall... and they don’t have lifetime contracts. UK got played
Nah, this thread is full of wishful thinking. How about K? He had the so-called "greatest team of all time" and couldn't crack the final four- with the projected #1, #2, and #4 draft picks starting. Think he's in trouble? Nope. It's absurd. There are a few angry UK fans, but your wishful thinking is overblown.
The NCAA Tournament is seeded randomness in which, the later you go, the more likely "upsets" are to occur.