Bill Self shares feelings on amended contract with Kansas

Kansas Jayhawks men’s basketball recently made head coach Bill Self the richest head coach in the sport. But for The Jayhawks’ headman, when it came to the extension, his thought process was different than most others.

During a recent press conference, Self revealed how long he and the university were in talks about the extension and whether or not he felt good about it.

“Yeah, Travis could probably address everything a lot better than me, but we’ve been in discussion about this since the end of last season,” said Self.

“I felt good about it. It would’ve been fine if it was done in September, or July, or June, or whenever. I have learned over time that when numerous attorneys are involved, sometimes things don’t move as quickly as what they’d normally wish they could in some ways. But I was happy that it was done because we’ve been talking about it for quite a while.”

With the contract extension now out of the way and in the rearview mirror, Self can focus on what is most important to him and Jayhawk nation — sitting atop the men’s college basketball world once again. Kansas is just a season removed from capturing the title during the 2021-2022 season. Last year, Kansas was upset in the second round of the NCAA tournament as a 1-seed by the 8-seed Arkansas Razorbacks.

Now, with all the money talk out of the way, plus the addition of players courtesy of high school and transfer portal recruiting, Self and the Jayhawks find themselves in a prime position to compete for another national title this season.

Self’s new lifetime deal with Kansas

Self reportedly signed a new amended five-year rolling contract with Kansas to make him the highest paid coach in the country, according to a release from the program.

“Naismith Hall of Fame Member Bill Self, one of just nine coaches all-time with 700-plus wins and multiple national championships, has signed an amended contract with the University of Kansas, Director of Athletics Travis Goff announced today,” the release stated.

Jeff Goodman reported it’s a five-year amended deal. USA Today’s Steve Berkowitz reported the financial figures coming to Self’s contract.

“Kansas announces new contract with men’s basketball coach Bill Self that will pay him $9.44 million in its first year,” he wrote on Twitter. “That will make Self the highest-paid basketball coach ever at a public university. He surpasses Kentucky’s John Calipari, who is set to make $8.5M this season …

“Self made $5.67 million from KU last season. This new deal — which maintains a 5-year, rolling contract term — increases the buyout he would get in case of termination w/o cause to $23.1 million (up from $5.41 million). Document shows he was repped for this deal by Bret Just.”