College sports coverage has become infatuated with NIL deals and players cashing in, but the head coaches are still the ones getting the biggest paydays, especially this time of year. With the coaching carousel underway not just the coaches jumping at bigger jobs that are enjoying a boon to their bank account. Winning in March pays, and these coaches are enjoying their trip to the Sweet 16.
Biggest bonuses for leading teams to the Sweet 16:
— Front Office Sports (@FOS) March 25, 2025
💰 $200K: Tennessee’s Rick Barnes
💰 $100K: Houston’s Kelvin Sampson
💰 $75K: Maryland’s Kevin Willard, Michigan State’s Tom Izzo
Over his 38 years as a Division 1 head coach, Rick Barnes has made the NCAA Tournament 29 times and while he’s only been to the Final Four once, the 70-year-old Tennessee head coach is a mainstay in the second weekend of The Big Dance. This trip to the Sweet 16 with the No. 2 seeded Volunteers will be his fourth at Tennessee and 10th of his career.
The SEC spends aggressively to win and that translated to 14 of the conference's 16 teams making the NCAA Tournament this year, and a nice little payday for Barnes ahead of his team’s matchup with Kentucky on Friday night in Indianapolis.
While Barnes has made an impressive run of Sweet 16s, Kelvin Sampson has been even more successful in March lately. The Houston head coach has led the Cougars to the Regional semifinal in six straight tournaments. The program had not made the Sweet 16 since 1984 before Sampson led it back in 2019. He’s not only elevated to program into a national contender, but he also led a transition to the Big 12, which makes a $100,000 bonus well worth it.
Tom Izzo is heading to his 16th Sweet 16 this year as the 70-year-old head coach appears rejuvenated by his No. 2 seed Spartans. Izzo and Maryland’s Kevin Willard both earned a $75,000 bonus, and Willard will have to thank freshman center Derik Queen for his.
Queen bailed out the Terrapins in the second round with a game-winner at the buzzer against Colorado State. Then when Queen was asked about his coach in the postgame press conference, he told reporters, “he did pay us the money.” Looks like they’re both taking care of each other’s bank accounts.
Duke and BYU are the only two private schools in the Sweet 16, so any bonuses for Jon Scheyer or Kevin Young aren't publicly available information.