The Texas Tech basketball program has taken a massive step toward securing its future. Monday, the university announced that head coach Grant McCasland received a contract extension that will make him one of the nation's highest-paid coaches.
Though official details of the deal have not been released by the university, it has been reported that the deal is worth $31.5 million and will carry McCasland through the end of the 2031 season. That's a six-year extension for one of the best coaches in the game.
Last year, after his first season with the Red Raiders, McCasland signed a one-year extension designed to give him a substantial raise after he guided Texas Tech to the NCAA Tournament. Now, he's not only getting another raise, but he's also getting long-term security in Lubbock.
His previous extension took his salary to $3.9 million per year. Now, though, he's going to make an average of $5.25 million over the life of his new deal.
This should give Texas Tech fans some confidence that McCasland is going to be a Red Raider for quite some time. In fact, few coaches in the sport are going to be making more than him.
As of early April, there were only 12 college head coaches making $5 million or more per year. On top of that list is Kansas' Bill Self who makes $8.8 million per season.
It is no surprise for Kansas to make its basketball coach the highest-paid coach on campus, given that basketball is the marquee sport in Lawrence. However, many thought the day would never arrive when Texas Tech would pay its basketball coach more than its football coach.
After all, football still generates far more revenue for the university than any other sport. Thus, many are of the opinion that the football coach should always be the highest-paid employee of the university.
Joey McGuire is set to make an average of around $4.2 million per year on a six-year deal he signed in 2022. That is just in the middle of the pack when it comes to Big 12 football coaches, which is fair given that McGuire is yet to win more than eight games in a season at Tech.
Meanwhile, McCasland is going to be the third-highest-paid Big 12 basketball coach. That is fitting given that he guided Texas Tech to the Elite Eight this spring and came within a whisper of taking his team to the Final Four.
Now, his future in Lubbock is secured thanks to a huge new contract that represents a major investment in the basketball program. Tech has stepped up and made it so that any program that wants to try to poach McCasland away will have to pay handsomely to do so, and it will take an investment that most schools are not willing to make in their basketball programs.
What's more, David Collier of KAMC in Lubbock is reporting that McCasland's new deal stipulates that the coach will have to pay 60% of his remaining contract if he leaves for another school in Texas. That is clearly an attempt to deter him from ever thinking about coaching at his alma mater, Baylor.
Texas Tech has stepped up to the plate to ensure that its basketball program will remain nationally relevant for years to come. Of course, if McCasland takes the Red Raiders to the heights many fans think he will, it will be money well spent.