Kentucky finalizes lucrative five-year deal with BYU coach Mark Pope

Kentucky‘s deal with Mark Pope is inching toward the finish line — and it’s a lucrative one, the Wildcats not receiving a friendly discount for the BYU head coach. It’s a five-year deal worth $5.5 million per season, before incentives, according to CBS Sports’ Matt Norlander.

“Barring an unforeseen event that changes plans, Kentucky is pacing toward getting an agreement on paper with Pope before the end of Thursday night,” Norlander reported.

The initial agreement was widely reported earlier this evening by a number of national sources.

That $5.5 million per year rate would have put him inside the top 10 nationally this past season at No. 6 overall, behind only Bill Self, John Calipari, Tom Izzo, Bruce Pearl and Rick Barnes. It’s more than what Scott Drew, Dan Hurley, Brad Underwood, Kelvin Sampson and Nate Oats all made, double that of Mark Few and Hubert Davis.

Pope has racked up a career record of 187-108, including a 110-52 mark at BYU with two NCAA Tournament appearances in 2021 and 2023. 51 years old, the former Wildcat and 1996 national champion led the Cougars to top-20 finishes in three of his five seasons with the program.

Now, he’s returning home to Kentucky as the program’s next head coach with an official announcement scheduled for Friday.