Nate Oats receives top-five salary, hefty buyout in new Alabama extension

Alabama basketball coach Nate Oats is now one of the top five highest-paid coaches in college basketball. Monday, the UA Board of Curators approved contract extensions for Oats and assistant coaches Preston Murphy and Ryan Pannone.

Oats' new extension runs for six years until March 14, 2030. He is set to make $5 million during the first year of the updated contract and his salary will increase by $510,000 each year. Oats will make $7.55 million in the final year of his new deal, which would currently rank as the third-highest salary in college basketball behind Kentucky coach John Calipari and Kansas' Bill Self.

“I am excited and honored for the chance to extend my relationship with the University of Alabama,” Oats said in a statement. “I have said from day one, my family and I love this community, the city of Tuscaloosa and the University so I am thankful and appreciative for all the support we have received from President Stuart Bell, Chancellor St. John, The Board of Trustees and Greg Byrne. We have enjoyed tremendous success during our five years at Alabama and we look forward to building on that for many years to come.”

In order to ensure Oats will remain in Tuscaloosa in the long term, UA also upped his buyout, which dropped from $12 million to $10 million on March 15 under his pervious deal. Oats' new buyout is set at $18 million for the first two years of his deal. That figure drops to $10 million in the third year of the deal and $4 million for the fourth year. His buyout drops to $0 on March 15, 2028 until his deal ends in 2030.

Since joining Alabama in 2019, Oats has developed into one of the premier coaches in college basketball, leading the Crimson Tide to a pair of SEC regular season and tournament titles. That success has resulted in Oats led to him being a popular name on coaching hot boards this season.

Oats' latest extension is the third he's received since joining Alabama. He was first given an extension after the 2021 season before receiving another pay raise last February.

Oats' contract has a number of incentives, including $50,000 bonuses for winning the SEC regular season championship, SEC tournament and Alabama making the NCAA Tournament. Each win in the Big Dance will net Oats a $25,000 bonus. He'll get a $300,000 bonus for a win in the Final Four and $500,000 for winning the National Championship. Oats will also receive a $25,000 bonus if he wins SEC Coach of the Year and $50,000 should he win National Coach of the Year.

The UA Board of Trustees also approved extensions for Murphy and Pannone on Monday. Murphy was signed to a one-year, $450,000 extension, while Pannone is set to make $360,000 for the next two seasons. Fellow assistant coach Austin Claunch was also in line for an extension but will instead become the next head coach at UTSA. Claunch will remain with Alabama during its NCAA Tournament run.