Kevin O'Sullivan signs contract extension with Florida Gators

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Kevin O’Sullivan and the Florida Gators have agreed to a contract extension that will keep the National Champion head coach in Gainesville through 2033. O’Sullivan and the Gators signed the extension in January of this year ahead of the Gators’ 2024 season.

“It is an honor and a privilege to serve as the head baseball coach at the University of Florida, and I am excited to continue the challenge of bringing a National Championship back to Gainesville throughout the foreseeable future,” O’Sullivan said in a statement. “I want to thank our administration for their commitment and support of UF baseball, specifically to athletic director Scott Stricklin and deputy athletic director Chip Howard for the opportunity to continue to lead this elite program.

“A special thank you to Gator Nation, as fan support of our team has reached new heights at Condron Family Ballpark. The future of baseball at Florida is incredibly bright, and I am thrilled to have the opportunity to start and finish my head coaching career as a Gator.”

O’Sullivan’s former deal ran through 2029, the new extension will last through October of 2033 and pay the head coach an average of $1.84 million per year. O’Sullivan’s new contract will make him the second-highest-paid coach in the Southeastern Conference behind Tim Corbin (Vanderbilt).

Kevin O’Sullivan and his staff have transformed the Gators into one of the marquee programs in all of college baseball. O’Sullivan won the program’s first national title in 2017 and turned the Orange & Blue into a regular at the College World Series in Omaha with eight trips in 15 chances since 2008 2008. O’Sullivan enters the 2024 season with a program-record 681 career victories, having eclipsed Dave Fuller’s previous school record of 556 wins on March 9, 2021. Since O’Sullivan’s 2008 arrival, no college program has had more trips to the College World Series, hosted more Super Regionals, or had more top-eight national seeds and NCAA Tournament bids than the Florida Gators.

Contract details

• Extended contract for four years from June 2029 to October 2033
• The average over 10 years is $1,840,000 up from $1,220,598 (ranging from $1.755 this year to $1.93 in 32-33)
• The majority of the increase comes through base salary (now 1 million)
• Termination by UAA without cause – 90 percent of annual total compensation through the remainder of the contract term
• Termination by Coach without cause – $250,000 per contract year for the remainder of the contract term. If O’Sullivan’s annual total compensation is not in eh top five for NCAA D1 Head Baseball Coaches, the total buyout is reduced to $500,000

SEC Baseball coaching salaries

Tim Corbin, Vanderbilt: $2,447,059
Kevin O’Sullivan: $1.84 (average over 10 years)
Jay Johnson, LSU: $1.65 million
Mike Bianco, Ole Miss: $1.625 million
Jim Schlossnagle, Texas A&M: $1.58 million
Tony Vitello, Tennessee: $1.5 million
Dave Van Horn, Arkansas: $1.35 million
Chris Lemonis, Mississippi State: $1.275 million
Butch Thompson, Auburn: $1.25 million
David Pierce, Texas: $1.2 million*
Rob Vaughn, Alabama: $900,000
Skip Johnson, Oklahoma: $750,000*
Kerrick Jackson, Missouri: $750,000
Wes Johnson, Georgia: $700,000
Mark Kingston, South Carolina: $600,000
Nick Mingione, Kentucky: $575,000

*Denotes Oklahoma and Texas who will join the SEC for baseball in 2024-2025
(Salaries compiled and reported by The Tennessean)