New Dawn Staley contract takes South Carolina coach over $4 million a year
Dawn Staley is now the highest-paid women’s basketball coach in the country.
South Carolina’s Board of Trustees approved a new contract extension for Staley on Friday that will pay her $4 million a season. Staley’s new annual salary marks an $800,000 raise from the $3.2 million she was making this season.
She’ll also receive a one-time signing bonus of $500,000.
The new deal is effective immediately, runs through April 15, 2030, and jumps to $5 million in annual salary in 2028-29 and $5.25 million in 2029-30. The total value of the contract is approximately $25.25 million.
“I’m proud to represent the University of South Carolina and of its investment in women’s basketball,” Staley said in a statement released by USC. “I look forward to continuing to be an example of how an investment in women’s basketball is one that will pay off for everyone.”
The contract extension comes nine months after Staley, 54, led the Gamecocks to the program’s first undefeated season (38-0) and a national championship win, the third title of her career. South Carolina is 457-107 during Staley’s 17 seasons at the helm of the program and 126-4 in the last four seasons alone.
Staley’s new salary puts her ahead of UConn’s Geno Auriemma, who signed a a five-year, $18.7-million extension in June after earning $3.1 million in 2023-24, and LSU’s Kim Mulkey, who signed a 10-year, $36-million extension in 2023 that made her the sports’ highest-paid coach at the time.
Dawn Staley salary, contract details
Staley’s new contract jumps $250,000 each year. The total value of the contract is $25.25 million. Her new annual salary breaks down as follows:
- Jan. 17, 2025 to April 15, 2025: $4 million (annualized)
- April 16, 2025 to April 15, 2026: $4.2 million
- April 16, 2026 to April 15, 2027: $4.5 million
- April 16, 2027 to April 15, 2028: $4.75 million
- April 16, 2028 to April 15, 2029: $5 million
- April 16, 2029 to April 15, 2030: $5.25 million
Staley’s previous contract, which was extended in 2021, increased her total salary by $100,000 each year. That meant her salary would’ve risen from $2.9 million to $3.5 million by the end of the contract in 2028.
Her original contract paid her $650,000 a year when she was hired back in 2008.
The timing of Friday’s contract extension is significant because it marks the first major decision by new athletic director Jeremiah Donati, who formally replaced Ray Tanner just a few weeks ago.
“Dawn Staley is a once-in-a-generation coach who has made a tremendous impact on the University of South Carolina,” Donati, who came to USC from TCU, said in a statement. “She has elevated the sport of women’s basketball on the national level and here on campus and I am excited that she will be representing our university for many years to come.”
South Carolina has blossomed into a national powerhouse since Staley took over the program.
She has won more games at South Carolina than all four of the Gamecocks’ previous coaches combined and holds the best winning percentage of any coach in the program’s history. Staley is responsible for 12 of the program’s 21 NCAA Tournament appearances, all six of the program’s Final Four appearances and all three of the program’s national title victories (2017, 2022, 2024).
Staley is also a seven-time SEC Coach of the Year and four-time Naismith Coach of the Year honoree. South Carolina has lost 10 or more games in a season only once since the 2012-2013 season.
South Carolina won at Alabama on Thursday night to move to 17-1 overall and 5-0 in the SEC. The Gamecocks rank No. 2 in the AP Top 25, are one of three remaining undefeated SEC teams (LSU, Kentucky) in conference play and host Oklahoma on Sunday.
This story was originally published January 17, 2025 at 10:51 AM.
