A little over a month ago, Ben McCollum was officially announced as the new head coach for Iowa men's basketball. Now, courtesy of an open records request from the Associated Press, we have the details on the memorandum of understanding for McCollum's first contract at Iowa. (The official contract has not been made available as of yet.)
The key details for the contract:
* it's a 6-year contract, running through the 2030-31 season
* it includes a total compensation package of $22.75 million over those six year, which does not include potential incentive-based bonuses
* the contract has a starting base salary of $500,000, plus supplemental income of $2.85 million for a total of $3.35 million for McCollum's first-year compensation (not counting incentives)
* the compensation is set to increase each year, hitting $4.1 million total in 2030-31
For comparison, Fran McCaffery was paid $3.4 million in total compensation last season and was set to earn $3.5 million in compensation from Iowa for the 2025-26 season.
McCollum's deal also includes a minimum annual salary pool of $2,095,00 for his coaching staff, which includes four assistant coaches and other staff members.
INCENTIVES
Academic (APR) bonus (non-cumulative)
$25,000: APR greater than or equal to 940
$50,000: APR greater than or equal to 960
$75,000: APR greater than or equal to 980
McCollum can also receive incentives for regular season accomplishments, particularly winning Big Ten championships in either the regular season or Big Ten Tournament.
Regular Season Performance (cumulative)
$75,000: Big Ten regular season champion/co-champion
$50,000: Big Ten Tournament champion
Naturally, McCollum's contract also includes incentives tied to success in the NCAA Tournament, beginning at $50,000 for qualifying for the tournament and topping out at $400,000 for winning the event.
NCAA Tournament (non-cumulative)
$50,000: NCAA Tournament invitation/First Four win
$75,000: advance to Round of 32 in NCAA Tournament
$100,000: advance to Sweet 16 in NCAA Tournament
$150,000: advance to Elite 8 in NCAA Tournament
$200,000: advance to Final Four in NCAA Tournament
$300,000: advance to National Championship in NCAA Tournament
$400,000: win National Championship in NCAA Tournament
Finally, McCollum's contract also includes incentives for winning coach of the year awards, either at the national level or the Big Ten level.
Coach of the Year (cumulative)
$50,000: National Coach of the Year (multiple eligible awards)
$25,000: Big Ten Coach of the Year
BUYOUT PROVISIONS
If McCollum voluntarily resigns or accepts another job during the contract term, he would need to pay a buyout figure that declines on a sliding scale over the length of his 6-year deal. For instance, if he left before April 1, 2026, he would owe $5 million to the University of Iowa. That figure declines by $1 million each year, so he would owe $4 million if he left before April 1, 2027, $3 million if he left before April 1, 2028, and so on.
Conversely, if Iowa terminates McCollum without cause, they would be required to pay him liquidated damages in equal monthly installments for the remainder of the contract term.
If Iowa terminates him at any point before April 30, 2028, they would owe him 80% of his the remaining scheduled compensation. If they fire him at any point after that (through the end of his current contract term on April 30, 2021), they would owe him 60% of his remaining scheduled compensation.
There is offset language in this provision, meaning that McCollum would be required to make efforts to find a new position if he was terminated and Iowa's buyout total would be offset by the compensation McCollum would receive from his new position.
One final buyout note: Iowa did pay the buyout that McCollum owed for leaving Drake, though the amount was not specified.
