Todd Golden signs contract extension: New deal for Florida coach worth $49.5 million for six years

Florida coach Todd Golden will be one of the top five highest-paid coaches in college basketball during the 2026-27 season after agreeing to a new contract with the school on Friday, CBS Sports’ Jon Rothstein reported. The six-year deal is worth $49.5 million and will pay Golden $7.5 million this upcoming season.

The only college basketball coaches set to make more than Golden this upcoming season are Kansas‘ Bill Self, UConn’s Dan Hurley and Arkansas‘ John Calipari. North Carolina first-year coach Michael Malone, who made the jump from the NBA to the college level this offseason, is set to make the same amount ($7.5 million) as Golden during the 2026-27 campaign.

Golden, who led Florida to the 2025 national title and a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament for the second consecutive season this past spring, is expected to coach a team with even higher preseason expectations this fall. The Gators are projected to open the season as the top-ranked team in the preseason AP Top 25 poll after returning Thomas Haugh, Alex Condon and Rueben Chinyelu.

The Gators are currently the outright favorites ahead of Duke (+550 at FanDuel Sportsbook) to win the national title in 2027.

Looking at buyout figures

As part of Golden’s new contract, Florida would owe him 85% of the remaining value if the school fired him without cause at any point of his tenure. Golden’s buyout to leave the school for another college job starts at $16 million this season and drops to $13 million next year. During the final season of his contract (2031-32 season), Golden’s buyout will be $1 million.

The buyout numbers in Golden’s contract if he were to leave for an NBA job are different. Golden’s buyout to leave for the NBA is $3 million until the end of March 2027, and that amount drops to $2 million for each of the ensuing two seasons. 

If Florida athletic director Scott Stricklin is not the athletic director at the school at any point in Golden’s tenure with the Gators, his buyout is reduced to $5 million for the next two seasons, from $16 million and $13 million, respectively. If Stricklin were to depart the school, Golden’s buyout to leave for the NBA would drop to $0 for the remainder of his new extension.

Florida is currently the No. 1-ranked team in Gary Parrish’s Top 25 And 1.

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