Clark: Incentive-laden contract could have FSU, Hamilton smiling for years
We all kind of assumed it anyway, but the announcement on Monday essentially made it official: Leonard Hamilton will retire from college basketball as a Florida State Seminole.
Which is exactly the way it should be.
Over the past two decades, Hamilton has taken this program to incredible heights and is currently in the midst of the best stretch in school history. The Seminoles are currently ranked No. 11 in the country and are on the cusp of a second straight regular-season ACC Championship. They're also headed to a fifth consecutive (I'm counting last year!) NCAA Tournament berth.
So locking him up for another four-plus years -- he'll be 76 when this new contract expires -- was a no-brainer for Florida State. And in the end, it was a no-brainer for Hamilton.
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Because this is where he belongs. And even though he's on the other side of 70, this thing he's built doesn't appear to be slowing down anytime soon.
Hamilton has constructed not only one of the best programs in the ACC, but one of the best in the country. He's put in decades and decades of work for this moment; to have a chance to win championships and cut down nets.
So, you have to feel good for all parties involved that this particular party will continue for the next five years.
And what's coolest about Hamilton's new contract is how it's set up. On the surface, just from the base contract numbers, Hamilton is still underpaid.
That's relative to his peers, of course. To us normal humans, he's like a bald Bruce Wayne. He's got more money that we can dream of. But to the other coaches he competes against, and routinely beats, he's getting paid less than market value.
Hamilton is making $2.25 million per season.
According to a published story by the USA Today last year, that number makes him the 52nd highest-paid coach in the country, and the NINTH highest-paid coach in the ACC.
According to this report, he's behind Clemson's Brad Brownell ($2.32 million), Notre Dame's Mike Brey ($2.4 million), Syracuse's Jim Boeheim ($2.63 million), N.C. State's Kevin Keatts ($2.87 million), Virginia's Tony Bennett ($3.3 million), Louisville's Chris Mack ($4.067 million), North Carolina's Roy Williams ($4.1 million) and Duke's Mike Krzyzewski ($7.25 million).
He's also behind Florida's Kevin White ($2.8 million) and is only a few thousand dollars ahead of Miami's Jim Larranaga.
And if you haven't been paying attention, he has beaten those dudes like a drum for years now.
So, yes, on first glance it looks like Hamilton is getting short-changed. Especially for what he's accomplished here in recent years.
But first, it has to be pointed out that even though I trust the overall methodology the USA Today uses in those reports, there are bound to be discrepancies because of the way coaches can be paid by different entities. For instance, how much is Roy Williams getting paid by Nike to roll the ball out there and tell his army of big men to go grab rebounds?
So these might not be exact-to-the-penny numbers.
But for our purposes, they are close enough. And on no planet should Brownell or Keats or White be making more money than Leonard Hamilton.
Which is why I'm such a fan of this new contract. Because when it's all said and done, they probably won't be.
Because you know what Hamilton did? He bet on himself. He kept the same exact base salary he was making, and instead of demanding a big raise in the middle of a pandemic, he agreed to some incentive clauses that should have him smiling as long as the Seminoles keep winning.
Here's a list of them all. We can add up the numbers when we're done.
A regular-season ACC title: $150,000 (not quite a done deal this year, but close).
An ACC Tournament championship: $150,000.
An NCAA Tournament appearance: $200,000 (you can go ahead and check this box).
Back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances: $50,000 (you can check this one off, too, assuming they'll give him credit for last year's team).
A top-four seed in the NCAA Tournament: $50,000 (not quite a done deal this year, but close).
If the team advances to the second round of the NCAA Tournament: $50,000.
If the team advances to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament: $225,000.
If the team advances to the Elite Eight: $250,000.
If the team advances to the Final Four: $275,000.
If the team advances to the national title game: $150,000.
If the team wins the national championship: $500,000.
If the team finishes in the Top 10 of the USA Today Coaches Poll: $200,000.
If the team finishes in the Top 20: $50,000.
If he's named AP ACC Coach of the Year: $100,000.
If he's named AP National Coach of the Year: $200,000.
If his team wins 60 percent of its ACC games: $50,000 (you can check this one off).
If his team wins 64.5 percent of its overall games: $50,000 (this one, too).
If the team's graduation rate is between 64 and 85 percent: $15,000. (This one is never in doubt with Hamilton.)
If the team's graduation rate is over 85 percent: $25,000.
If Corey Clark asks for a loan, just like a small one for a great investment opportunity: $250,000 (no questions asked).
Ok. I know that's a lot to take in. But for the sake of argument, let's say Florida State wins its final two games of the regular season to wrap up another ACC regular-season title.
And let's say FSU gets knocked off in the ACC Tournament but still lands a No. 4 seed in the NCAA Tournament and advances to the Sweet 16 before getting knocked off by Gonzaga (because you just know the committee will match the Seminoles up with the Bulldogs again!).
Let's just say this is all that happens. And FSU doesn't make an incredible run in March.
Leonard Hamilton will still make an additional $875,000 in bonuses this season alone.
If you add that to his base salary, now Hamilton is earning $3.125 million -- which would rank him 24th in the country in overall pay and only behind Krzyzewski, Williams, Bennett and Mack in the ACC. Of course, I have no way of knowing what those coaches get incentive-wise, but we can all assume Hamilton will be making a big leap on the coaching salary ladder.
And now let's extrapolate this out a little farther.
Let's say FSU does catch fire in March and plays great. Let's say they make it to the Final Four.
Buddy, now Ham Bone is up there with the elites: If FSU wins the ACC Tournament and then wins four games in the NCAA Tournament, he is owed an additional $1.7 million, pushing his compensation to $3.95 million.
And if he wins the whole thing? Now, Hamilton is at $4.6 million and I'm seriously asking for that loan (we can do great things together, Leonard!).
I genuinely love this contact.
Because first and foremost, it's Hamilton knowing just how good his program is now and betting on himself and his assistants that it will continue to be sustained. And it's Florida State compensating him for what has been done as opposed to what might be done.
Imagine if Willie Taggart had a contact loaded with incentives instead of just straight cash; he might owe Florida State money after that debacle.
I get how job markets work. I know you're worth what someone is willing to pay you, but it truly is refreshing to see a coach who believes in his ability and what he's already built to load a contract with incentives like this.
It's like an actor who takes scale to star in an independent movie but then gets a percentage of the profits on the back end.
If Hamilton keeps performing like he's been performing, he's going to make a lot of money over the next five years in bonuses.
And if Hamilton keeps performing like he's been performing, Florida State will no doubt be happy to pay it.
Contact senior writer Corey Clark at corey@warchant.com and follow @Corey_Clark on Twitter.
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