NCAA championship coaches made more than $1.2 million in contract bonuses en route to national titles

• College basketball head coaches have serious financial incentives to succeed in the postseason.
• Kansas' Bill Self raked in $575,000 in contract bonuses for his Jayhawks' championship run.

The Kansas Jayhawks and South Carolina Gamecocks won this year's NCAA college basketball tournaments, and their head coaches earned quite a pretty penny for their big victories.

Kansas' Bill Self and South Carolina's Dawn Staley earned more than $1 million combined for their championship runs, according to copies of the Hall of Fame head coaches' contracts reviewed by Insider. Both have lucrative bonuses baked into their deals that reward them for personal and team success alike.

Self — who won his second title in 19 years at the helm of the Jayhawks' program — made an extra $200,000 when his Kansas squad completed the largest comeback in NCAA championship game history to beat the North Carolina Tar Heels, 69-72. But he also earned money as the Jayhawks advanced through various rounds of the tournament: $50,000 for making the tournament field; $100,000 for cracking the Sweet 16; and another $150,000 for advancing to the Final Four.

With another $75,000 due to him for reaching Big 12 milestones — $50,000 for winning the conference's regular-season title and another $25,000 for winning the postseason tournament — Self finished the standout season with an extra $575,000 in income.

But Staley earned even more throughout her Gamecocks' dominant season. The WNBA-superstar-turned-coaching-legend took home $75,000 for the Gamecocks' regular-season SEC title, and another $15,000 once the team notched its 11th conference tournament victory.

When South Carolina finished in the top-25 of the final AP Poll of the season — the Gamecocks actually ranked first the entire year — Staley received $15,000 more. Added to that are the two $25,000 bonuses she picked up for earning SEC and Naismith Coach of the Year honors.

Last but certainly not least, the 14-year South Carolina playcaller raked in a whopping $500,000 when South Carolina crushed the UConn Huskies in the national championship game. In total, Staley earned an extra $655,000 for her many successes on the year — a payday she fought for in negotiating a history-making contract extension in 2021 that she said she hoped would set "an example for other universities to invest in their women's basketball programs, too."