How much money does Rick Barnes make? Tennessee basketball coach salary, ranking

Tennessee’s Rick Barnes remains one of the highest-paid college basketball coaches in the country.

USA TODAY Sports released a list of the top 81 men’s basketball head coach salaries on April 8.

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Tennessee basketball coach Rick Barnes ranks at No. 5 on the list. He has a total salary of $6.2 million, and his $3 million maximum bonus is the highest in the nation. Barnes has a $12.25 million school buyout as of April 1.

Barnes, however, is not the highest-paid coach the SEC. Arkansas’ John Calipari ranks No. 3 overall at $7.75 million.

Barnes was awarded a lifetime contract with Tennessee basketball after taking the Vols to their second straight Elite Eight appearance in 2025. The contract pays around $6 million annually, and will extend by three years every April 15, allowing Barnes to coach until he retires.

Kansas’ Bill Self tops the list, followed by UConn’s Dan Hurley, Calipari, Michigan State’s Tom Izzo and then Barnes.

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Florida’s Todd Golden, Ole Miss’s Chris Beard and Alabama’s Nate Oats all fall in order behind Barnes.

Kentucky coach Mark Pope and Texas’ Sean Miller crack the top fifteen with salaries just over $5 million each.

Vanderbilt coach Mark Byington’s salary is the only SEC coach with an unlisted salary. As a private institution, Vanderbilt does not have to disclose employee contracts.

Wynton Jackson covers high school sports for Knox News. Email: [email protected]

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This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Tennessee basketball Rick Barnes salary revealed, ranks in top five nationally

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Publish date : 2026-04-08 19:50:00

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