Earlier this month, Florida men’s basketball coach Todd Golden agreed to a six-year, $40.5 million contract extension that keeps him in Gainesville through the 2030-31 season. His new deal also includes an escape clause in the event he’s courted by an NBA team.
According to Adam Luckett of Kentucky Sports Radio, Golden has a $3 million buyout fee if he’s hired by an NBA team during the 2025-26 academic year. The number drops to $2 million for 2026-27 and 2027-28, and $1 million in 2028-29. Note that Golden moving to another college program would cost between $11 million and $16 million.
The Gators have entered the Golden Era 🏆
Todd Golden in 3 years at Florida:
– 1 National Championship
– 1 SEC Championship
– 2 SEC Championship appearances
– 2 March Madness appearances
– 36-4 record for 2024-2025📸: Brett Wilhelm via Getty Images pic.twitter.com/oVXIQEnq1l
— Florida Recruiting (@FLRecruits) April 8, 2025
“I think it’s more of just kind of keeping that opportunity potentially available down the road,” Golden said. “That’s not necessarily something that I’m thinking about right now a whole lot. But, you know, these contracts, it’s like real-life stuff, right? So you gotta make sure that you give yourself a little bit of opportunity that way.”
Although Gators fans have little to worry about right now, the possibility of Golden leaving will be a hot topic next year and into the future if an NBA team requests an interview.
Will Todd Golden Go The Route Of Billy Donovan?
Florida watched Billy Donovan leave Gainesville twice. Donovan changed his mind after accepting the Orlando Magic job in 2007 before leaving for good in 2015.
Then there was Dan Hurley, who rejected the Los Angeles Lakers’ contract offer last June, turning down an extra $20 million by signing a $50 million extension with UConn.
As for Golden, he was making $3 million under the terms of his initial deal at Florida. The Phoenix native then signed a two-year extension last March that paid him over $4 million per year.
With this new deal at $6.75 million annually, Golden becomes one of the five highest-paid coaches in college basketball. The Gators finished with a 36-4 record in his third season at the helm, winning the SEC tournament and their third national title.
“My family and I are grateful to be a part of Gator Nation and for the opportunity to lead this great program three years ago,” Golden said. “As we’ve shown during our time in Gainesville, the University of Florida is an institution that has the resources, support, and people in place to compete and win national championships.
Golden replaced Mike White in 2022 after three seasons at San Francisco. He led Florida to the NCAA tournament in his second season, losing to Colorado in the first round.
