Details Released For Mick Cronin's Extension With UCLA Men's Basketball
The Bruins' head coach is in line to stick around a while, and the details of that extended stay have now come to light.
Mick Cronin and UCLA men's basketball agreed to a six-year extension on March 17, just before the Bruins started their NCAA tournament run that wound up ending in the Sweet 16. The terms of the new contract were not announced at the time, but Ben Bolch of the Los Angeles Times reported the details Wednesday morning.
Cronin will have an annual salary of $4.1 million across each of the next six seasons, putting him just ahead of Oregon's Dana Altman as the highest-paid coach in the Pac-12 whose salary is publicly disclosed.
The terms of Cronin's deal also include up to an additional $250,000 a year for running camps and clinics.
On the bonus level, Cronin can make $25,000 for every regular season Pac-12 title, $15,000 for every Pac-12 tournament title and $10,000 for winning Pac-12 coach of the year. The academic performance of Cronin's student-athletes could also end up giving him an additional bonus as high as $60,000.
Cronin will make $35,000 in bonuses for appearing in the NCAA tournament Round of 64, $60,000 for advancing to the Round of 32, $85,000 for making the Sweet 16, $110,00 for making the Elite Eight, $160,000 for making the Final Four, $185,000 for making the national championship game and $235,000 for winning an NCAA title. Those figures are cumulative, with the individual tournament win bonuses ranging from $25,000 to $50,000.
Considering Cronin following up UCLA's Sweet 16 loss to North Carolina on Friday by claiming he won't leave Westwood until he brings home banner No. 12, he is positioning himself to cash in on as many of those bonuses as possible every spring.
Cronin's Bruins have made a Final Four and Sweet 16 in his three years at the helm, and they were in line to earn a bid in the COVID-canceled tournament in 2020 as well. Cronin won Pac-12 Coach of the Year in that first campaign, and he has won more postseason games than any other coach in the conference since he arrived out west.
Should either side decide to back away in the next six years, however, there is a reciprocal buyout in place in Cronin's new contract.
Either side would have to pay $24 million to break off the deal before March 31, 2023, $20 million before March 31, 2024, $16 million before March 31, 2025, $10 million before March 31, 2026, $6 million before March 31, 2027, and $2 million before March 31, 2028.
Cronin does have two retention bonuses too, though, valuing $2 million if he makes it past April 15, 2025 and another $2 million if he makes it to March 31, 2028.
Just between the base salaries, retention bonuses and camp bonuses, Cronin's deal puts him in line to earn just over $30 million over the next six years. If the Bruins were to somehow win six NCAA championships, six Pac-12 regular season championships and six Pac-12 tournament championships in a row, Cronin would be able to max out his current contract at $32.2 million, or $5.36 million a year.
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