When John Calipari signed his "lifetime" contract with Kentucky in 2019, it was coming on the heels of another Elite Eight appearance at the NCAA Tournament. The Wildcats were among the elite members of college basketball, thanks to Calipari's knack for recruiting the top incoming freshmen to play at Kentucky.
Flash forward five years later, and Calipari is off to greener pastures, having spurned his longtime program for Arkansas on Sunday night.
Calipari's decision comes on the heels of another premature Wildcats exit in the NCAA tournament. For the second time in three years, Kentucky was bounced in the first round of March Madness. After falling to No. 15 seed Saint Peter's at the 2022 tournament, the No. 3 seed Wildcats were ousted by No. 14 seed Oakland, marking another disappointing end for the blue blood program.
"I told them after, this one is painful," Calipari said to TNT’s Evan Washburn. "And the reason is there are other times you lose a game and you know your team is what it is. But this team, I really felt, was built for this moment. Even though we were young, I knew that could catch us. But we had our chances. We threw the ball away, took a bad shot. There were things that happened, and then we give up a corner three the last play.
"But you’ve got to give Oakland credit. They made unbelievable shots at the buzzer. They deserved to win the game. I hate to say we didn’t, but we didn’t."
DeCOURCY: Kentucky never learned from its mistakes in loss to Oakland
Kentucky failed to contain Oakland sharpshooter Jack Gohlke, who finished with 10 3-pointers and 32 points for the Golden Grizzlies. When you add in numerous "freshman mistakes" from Kentucky, it spelled a recipe for disaster.
John Calipari on the Kentucky loss to Oakland:
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) March 22, 2024
"This one is painful. The reason is, there are other times you lose a game and you know your team is what it is. But this team I really felt was built for this moment. Even though we were young. I knew that could catch us." pic.twitter.com/7jVP7AV2mZ
"What I hate is this team, that really worked and did some good stuff – we didn’t play great. They did," Calipari said. "They made some unbelievable shots. We even went to a box-and-one and we fouled him one time, he makes another one. They shouldn’t be, our team in the season, defined by that game. But it will be. This is the profession we’ve chosen. But we had some guys that didn’t play the way they’ve been playing all year.
"We did everything we could. We knew the zone would be tough, but we missed shots we don’t miss. The preparation, I thought they were in a great – trying to keep them loose. But when the game started, you had some guys not play to the level they could play."
The last four seasons for Kentucky have resulted in the program coming up short time and time again. The Wildcats have not captured the SEC regular season title or SEC championship since the shortened COVID season. Kentucky failed to make the 2021 NCAA Tournament and has since lost in the first round, second round and first round of the ensuing March Madnesses.
Cutting ties with Calipari seemed destined to cost Kentucky big time. However, by agreeing to join the Razorbacks, the Wildcats might've just saved them a pretty penny. Here is what to know about the details of Calipari's contract buyout.
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John Calipari contract buyout
In 2019, Calipari signed a so-called "lifetime" contract with Kentucky, agreeing to a 10-year, $86 million deal. The deal came with a buyout clause attached to it, and it carries a pretty penny.
The longtime Kentucky coach's contract featured a clause promising that Calipari would receive 75 percent of the remaining value on his contract if the Wildcats opted to part ways with him. That came out to $33.375 million in money the university would have to shell out if it wanted to part ways with its legendary coach.
Such a clause revolved around Kentucky opting to hand Calipari a pink slip. If Calipari were to leave for another program, however, the Wildcats would not be obliged to pay its longtime coach anything.
With Calipari deciding on his own volition to join the Razorbacks' coaching staff, Kentucky looks set to save $33.375 million on a potential Calipari buyout. That's a rather sizable sum — the average annual value of the remaining portion of Calipari's contract comes out to $6.675 million, higher than Tom Izzo's salary in 2024.
John Calipari 'lifetime' contract
When Calipari signed his "lifetime" contract with the Wildcats, it did not mean that he would forever be the head coach of Kentucky basketball.
The "lifetime" term more so refers to the fact that the deal appeared likely to be Calipari's final one before retiring. The coach was 59 at the time of signing his deal, and if he were to coach for the entire 10-year deal, then it's unlikely he would sign another contract.
Calipari is the second-highest-paid coach in college basketball, trailing only Kansas' Bill Self. His current 10-year, $86 million contract pays him $8.6 million a year. Self makes $13 million a season with the Jayhawks, and the third-highest-paid coach in college ball is Michigan State's Tom Izzo, who earns an annual salary of $6.2 million.
How old is John Calipari?
Calipari is 65 years old, turning that age on Feb. 10.
He's still some ways away from the true elder statesmen of the college game, as six coaches are on the other side of 70, including Miami's Jim Larranaga and St. John's Rick Pitino. Still, he is one of the older coaches still kicking around in college basketball.
