is there an "automatic extension" clause in Gates' contract

Posted on: February 22, 2024 at 08:34:04 CT

that's triggered for meeting certain goals?

If you recall, Cuonzo's contract had a provision that would automatically extend it by a year if he won 20 games, thereby preventing his buyout from decreasing as long as that simple (and rather easily attainable) goal was met each year.

Does Gates' contract have a similar "auto-extension" clause?...


If it does NOT... then we should divert more "NIL" money to the basketball program to keep it "respectable" while we ride out Gates' contract (more specifically, his buyout decreasing incrementally by ~$4M each season).
Let's call this the "polishing a turd" strategy.


But if the contract DOES have the provision... then throwing more "NIL" money at the roster would only prolong the problem. Sure, we'd have enough talent to reach the NCAA tournament most seasons, but there would be no real chance of making a deep run, or winning the SEC. And because of the auto-extension, Gates' buyout would remain at $20M+ in perpetuity.


So, if DRF added a Cuonzo-like auto-extension clause to Gates' contract, then she screwed us even worse than I initially thought.


Can someone who's reviewed the contract shed some light on this?... Thanks







Edited by zounami at 15:44:03 on 02/28/24