Sports

Get That Bread, Sis: Dawn Staley Becomes Highest-Paid Black Head Basketball Coach After Earning $22 Million Contract

On October 15, Gamecocks Women’s Basketball Team head coach Dawn Staley became the highest-paid Black head coach for women’s basketball after earning a $22 million contract.

The University of South Carolina Board of Trustees approved a new contract that will make Staley the highest-paid Black coach in her sport and one of the highest-paid women’s basketball coaches in the United States.

WISTV reported that the contract has been set at a seven-year length for $22.4 million and will last through the 2027-28 season, according to officials.

Staley has been head coach of the Gamecocks Women’s Basketball Team since the late spring of 2008. She is part of three programs that play in at least three of the last six NCAA Final Fours. She was also the champion of the 2017 NCAA Championship.

Related Story: Forbes Magazine Ranks Naomi Osaka and Serena Williams Highest-Paid Women Athletes of 2021

“Dawn Staley is one of the nation’s top coaches, regardless of the sport,” said South Carolina Athletics Director Ray Tanner. “She has built our women’s basketball program from the ground up, and her teams have produced champions, both on and off the floor.”

“It’s always been an honor to represent the University of South Carolina, and this contract represents the University’s commitment to supporting me and our women’s basketball program,” Staley said. “Contract negotiations are challenging, but this one was especially important as I knew it could be a benchmark, an example for other universities to invest in their women’s basketball programs, too.”

School officials said that Staley’s salary will be $1 million per year and will include outside compensation starting at $1.9 million in her first year and will rise by $100,000 per year after that.

Janelle Bombalier

Staff Writer for Sister2Sister and News Onyx with a fondness for traveling and photography. I enjoy giving my take on education, politics, entertainment, crime, social justice issues, and new trends.

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Janelle Bombalier