Report: Length of Bruce Pearl contract extension revealed

Big news came out of east Alabama on Friday night, as the Auburn Tigers announced the extension of basketball head coach Bruce Pearl. It seems as if he will be finishing out his career with Auburn, with the length of his contract coming out.

According to Jeff Goodman of Stadium, Pearl has signed an eight-year extension. How much the head coach will be making has not yet been reported but on his current deal, is making just under $4 million.

Pearl is currently 61 years old and will turn 62 in March, before the end of the season. If he was to play out his entire contract, Pearl would dip into his 70s and finish out his career on the Plains.

Before Pearl arrived, Auburn had only made the NCAA Tournament eight times throughout its history. A rebuild was required but the Tigers are facing their third appearance under Pearl in eight years.

The 2018-2019 season saw an SEC regular-season championship and a second-ever SEC Tournament championship. Even better, the Tigers made it all the way to the Final Four for the first time in program history.

Now, Auburn is the No. 1 team in the country and looking to make another run in the postseason. A brutal SEC schedule and a couple of tournament runs still remain.

Auburn Tigers, Bruce Pearl announce extension

Athletic director Allen Greene took to Twitter to announce the extension. Both he and Pearl spoke during a video posted online, with the two beaming with excitement.

“War Eagle, Auburn family,” Greene said in a video on Twitter late Friday night. “Tonight’s a great night. I got a big surprise for you. We locked him up.”

Pearl then came into the shot and spoke on what being the Auburn basketball coach meant to him. He said the process of getting an extension was easy for everyone involved.

“Hey, War Eagle everybody,” Pearl said. “Listen, it wasn’t that hard. I’m grateful to Allen, I’m grateful to the administration… My family and I are going to be able to stay and be your basketball coach for a long, long time. I’m grateful, I’m humbled, I’m blessed to be your coach.”

Auburn quickly made a move to extend Pearl, whose name was being associated with the open Louisville job. The Cardinals just fired head coach Chris Mack and were looking to make a big-time hire. Pearl was reportedly one of the names at the top of their list.