Fresh off sustained success with Florida basketball, head coach Todd Golden has signed another significant contract extension with the Gators. The language of this latest extension will pay him an addition $1.5 million next season, with the deal having a total value of $49.5 million across the next six seasons.
Todd Golden, who won a National Championship with the Gators in 2025, has signed a new six-year contract to remain in Gainesville, source told @On3. https://t.co/SoMfxPvJNT
— Joe Tipton (@JoeTipton) August 28, 2026
A native of Phoenix, Arizona, Golden played collegiately for Randy Bennett at Saint Mary’s and spent time under coaches like Bruce Pearl and Kyle Smith earlier in his career. He spent just three years as a head coach at San Francisco before taking Florida’s top job in 2022. Just three years after that, Golden led the Gators to their national title in program history and is a few months removed from an SEC regular season championship in year four.
Golden is a successful part of an SEC that is jam packed with great coaching talent. Only John Calipari from Arkansas will make more money than him next season, with his new contract making him the fourth-highest paid basketball coach in the nation.
It’s an important move for both sides, with Florida eager to lock in their head coach who has been named a few times in NBA job openings. After the departure of Michigan’s Dusty May to the Dallas Mavericks, it’s a significantly realer possibility. While the deal continues Golden’s reign in Gainesville, this deal actually did change and even lessen the buyout for him leaving for the NBA.
Regardless, he’ll be back in Gainesville for year five and has a team that can legitimately challenge for another national championship. In this recent era, a great number of these SEC teams have risen to national relevance and Florida has done what’s necessary to keep up with the pack. You can expect great things from the Gators this season and for as long as Golden is roaming the sidelines in the SEC.
He’s clearly not on the same level as Billy Donovan, the former college coach who won a pair of titles and made four trips to the Final Four, but Golden is trending in a fantastic direction. He’s still just 41-years old and has shown his potential as a great recruiter and coach in rebuilding Florida into national prominence. Do you think Golden stays at Florida for the next six years or will he be lured by the NBA?
Add us as a preferred source on Google