Tennessee basketball just rewarded Rick Barnes with a lifetime contract, as he's had one of the most successful runs in the program's history. Barnes has led the program to back-to-back Elite Eights after only having one appearance prior to that. Through 10 seasons, he has a 232-109 record.
Barnes wrote a statement about earning the lifetime contract.
“I am incredibly thankful God brought me to the University of Tennessee 10-and-a-half years ago. It is an honor and a blessing to serve as the head basketball coach here,” Barnes said in the school release. “I have had the chance to meet so many wonderful people, both on and off campus, who have impacted my life. The Knoxville community means so much not just to me, but to my entire family.
The last two seasons alone, Tennessee has gone 57-17, including 26-10 in league action. During the 2024-25 season, they reached the Elite Eight and were able to win 30 games in the same year for the first time.
Barnes has led Tennessee to six 25-win seasons, three SEC titles, seven NCAA tournaments, four Sweet 16s, and two Elite Eights.
His new contract will be at $6 million annually, and the initial term upon execution of the deal is supposed to run through April 15, 2028. Every April 16, the contract will automatically extend and will always have three years remaining on the deal, which will allow him to be the coach for Tennessee until he wants to retire. His most recent extension was in September 2023, and it was worth $29.4 million over five years.
Barnes became the head coach of Tennessee in April 2015, signing a six-year contract worth $13.5 million.
The new contract will make him the seventh-highest-paid coach in college basketball, as he trails Kansas' Bill Self, Arkansas' John Calipari, UConn's Danny Hurley, Michigan State's Tom Izzo, UCLA's Mick Cronin, and Auburn's Bruce Pearl.
