U of L’s Athletic Association Board of Directors on Thursday approved a contract for the Cardinals’ new head coach that will pay him $2,300,000 per year.
The deal runs through March 15, 2029. If Kelsey guides the team to its first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2019 within his first three seasons, it will automatically trigger a one-year extension.
Kelsey, 48, takes over the reins at Louisville after compiling a record of 261-122, a .681 winning percentage and four March Madness berths across stints at Winthrop (2012-21) and Charleston (2021-24).
During his final season with the Cougars, the Cincinnati native earned $1.1 million; $600,000 in base salary supplemented by $500,000 in private funds.
He’s now tasked with restoring the Cards to national prominence after they went 12-52 from 2022-24 under Kenny Payne.
Before diving further into Kelsey’s contract, consider this: Payne earned a base salary of $3,350,000, which was the fourth highest in the ACC at the time of its approval. And former coach Chris Mack, with whom Kelsey worked at Wake Forest and Xavier, was making $4.3 million before his departure.
“I think it was based on circumstances; as far as where Kenny was relative to where Pat was,” U of L athletics director Josh Heird said when asked about the difference in pay between the two coaches.
“We did our due diligence just from a — call it the leap from mid-major to Power Five and what those salaries look like (for) coaches who have made that jump. I mean, we had a list of probably 20, 25 (coaches) and what those numbers looked like from an average yearly salary. Pat’s numbers fall right into that.”
How much is Pat Kelsey’s Louisville buyout?
If Kelsey is terminated without cause by the university, 95% of remaining guaranteed compensation is subject to mitigation and offsets and is payable over the remainder of the term, according to the university.
If Kelsey resigns his job for any other position before the end of the term, payment to the university will be 95% of remaining guaranteed compensation and is payable within 90 days, according to the university
