‘Players make more than my assistants’: Arkansas HC John Calipari makes eye-opening admission about his players’ pay

Two days after the U.S. Senate voted down a $5 million cap on college coaching salaries, Arkansas head coach John Calipari answered the coaching side of the debate with numbers from his own program. He spoke with reporters on Wednesday ahead of the Razorbacks’ Primetime at the Palace event at Bud Walton Arena, in comments captured in a video shared by Pig Trail Nation on X.

The Senate passed the Protect College Sports Act 77-22 on Monday and sent it to the House. Before the final vote, senators rejected 52-47 an amendment that would have capped what coaches earn from their schools at $5 million a year and limited how often they can change jobs. That amendment came from Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J.

Kentucky Wildcats head coach John Calipari shouts to his team during their game against the Gonzaga Bulldogs on Saturday, Feb. 10, 2024 at Rupp Arena.

Calipari, who has pushed for the bill, raised the coaching question himself.

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“Right now, we need something to give us some semblance of order and some guardrails,” Calipari said. “And there will be people against it that think there should be unions, they should be unionized, agents should have a free hand to do what they want. You know? They talk about, ‘Well what about coaches?’ I’m going to say this. I probably shouldn’t. Nine of my players make more than my assistants. And the other three make more than all my staff. And we are not one of the highest payers. We’re just not.”

Does John Calipari’s comparison answer the coach-pay question?

“Then you could say what about you? I’ve been doing it 40 years,” Calipari said, turning the question on himself. “Started as a volunteer, two years as a part-time assistant. And I’ve kind of done OK at different programs. So, yeah, they’re paying me.”

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That pay comes to $7.75 million a year, the third-highest salary in men’s college basketball in USA Today’s April figures. It sits $2.75 million above the cap the Senate turned down on Monday.

His comparison sets Arkansas players…

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Publish date : 2026-10-01 22:13:00

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