Dan Hurley is in for a well-deserved raise.
After rejecting the Lakers’ offer to become their next head coach Monday, Hurley is set to receive a six-year, $50 million deal at UConn, according to Mike Anthony of CT Insider.
The Lakers offered Hurley six years and $70 million.
While appearing on “The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz” on Thursday, Hurley said the “financial part in terms of salary has been done for a while” but mentioned that elements such as name, image and likeness (NIL) funding and staff salaries are still in progress.
With his new contract, Hurley would become the third-highest-paid coach in the country by yearly salary, trailing only Kansas’ Bill Self and Arkansas’ John Calipari.
The Huskies’ main man inked a six-year, $32.1 million deal with the program after he won the 2023 national championship.
Although a disparity of $20 million still exists between Hurley’s proposed and new deal, the updated terms could foster more incentive for Hurley to be even more exclusive about which NBA opportunities he considers.
The expectation is that Hurley’s new deal would replace his contract from last summer.
With Hurley remaining wholeheartedly committed to Connecticut, the Huskies can fully begin preparation for a third straight title.
In fact, the team has already begun practicing, with its social media account nonchalantly posting that its Monday afternoon practice had begun after the Hurley announcement.
While the school loses projected lottery picks Donovan Clingan and Stephon Castle, plus impact guards Tristen Newton and Cam Spencer, plenty more talent will be in Storrs next year.
One considerable appeal for Hurley was undoubtedly redshirt junior forward Alex Karaban announcing his decision to come back for another year.
On top of that, the Huskies landed strong transfers in St. Mary’s guard Aidan Mahaney and Michigan center Tarris Reed.
The path to a three-peat will certainly be daunting, but with Hurley even more well-compensated, UConn has one less thing to worry about.
