Tommy Lloyd's new contract calls for bigger bonuses, assistant salary protection

Although Lloyd and UA announced they agreed to the new deal on April 3, just before the Final Four in Indianapolis, UA's proposal for Lloyd's new contract was not included in the initial agenda for the Board of Regents' meetings Thursday and Friday. It was added late in the week to an "amended agenda," however.

Lloyd also has received assurances over financial resources devoted to his players, including school-paid revenue-share money and school fundraising efforts for outside-paid NIL funds, but those were not included in the proposal to the Regents. Lloyd is expected to have more direct communication with UA president Suresh Garimella over those issues.

Under the new deal, UA is seeking to pay Lloyd $7.19 million in guaranteed compensation next season, an amount that would have ranked among the top four highest-paid college basketball coaches this season, according to USA Today's coaching salary database.

The deal calls for a total of $37.5 million over the five years through 2030-31 that is fully guaranteed. UA agreed to pay Lloyd all of his remaining base salary, additional duties and Arizona Sports Enterprises compensation if he is fired without cause, though it will be reduced by any amount Lloyd makes in an athletic role — and that Lloyd would have a "reasonable duty" to mitigate by seeking another job.

In its proposal, UA is also offering Lloyd a $2.9 million annual staff salary pool and a provision that up to three assistants and a special assistant can receive guaranteed contracts of up to three years that include "salary protection" in case Lloyd is fired without cause. Normally, assistants are allowed no more than two-year deals at UA.

The new deal offers the same performance incentives Lloyd agreed to in a five-year contract last spring, except that it increased the amounts for reaching the Final Four ($500,000) and winning the NCAA title ($1 million) — and stated that he would receive those bonuses for the just-concluded season.

Therefore, Lloyd will receive $500,000 for reaching the Final Four, instead of the $175,000 that he was scheduled to receive in his previous deal.

The new contract also reworks the structure of outside income from Nike and Arizona Sports Enterprises, and puts it all under Lloyd's annual guaranteed compensation. In previous deals, Lloyd was guaranteed a minimum of $200,000 each from Nike and Arizona Sports Enterprises, but he will now receive $1.44 million from Arizona Sports Enterprises for 2026-27, with $5,000 annual escalators through the end of the contract.

Also, if Arizona wins a national championship under Lloyd during the term of the agreement, Lloyd will receive $500,000 a year more from Arizona Sports Enterprises for the length of the agreement.

In return for the additional compensation, Lloyd agreed to reset his buyout back to $11 million in 2026-27, the same as it was in 2025-26 under terms of a contract he agreed to last April. If he leaves for another Big 12 school, the buyout jumps to $12 million for the first year, defined as April 1, 2026, to March 31, 2027.

Lloyd's buyout decreases to $9 million in 2027-28, to $6 million in 2028-29, to $3 million in 2029-30 and to zero in the final year of his contract. The buyout for leaving for a Big 12 program drops annually from $12 million to $10 million to $8 million and $5 million before zeroing out in 2030-31.

Before listing the terms, UA offered nine paragraphs detailing the achievements of Lloyd and his players, who won the Big 12 regular season and tournament titles and reached the Final Four this season.

"Lloyd has continued his transformation of the University of Arizona's men's basketball program into one of the top programs in the nation," UA's proposal said. "This was a historic season."

Full terms of Lloyd's proposed contract, formally referred to as the "First Amendment to Third Amended Multiple-Year Employment Agreement:"

UA paid compensation

– 2026-27: $7.19 million

($5 million base salary, $750,000 additional duties pay, $1.44 million from Arizona Sports Enterprises)

– 2027-28: $7.22 million

($5 million base salary, $775,000 additional duties pay, $1.445 million from Arizona Sports Enterprises)

– 2028-29: $7.5 million

($5.25 million base salary, $800,000 additional duties pay, $1.45 million from Arizona Sports Enterprises)

– 2029-30: $7.78 million

($5.5 million base salary, $825,000 additional duties pay, $1.455 million from Arizona Sports Enterprises)

– 2030-31: $7.81 million

($5.5 million base salary, $850,000 additional duties pay, $1.46 million from Arizona Sports Enterprises)

Major academic, performance bonuses (and change from previous deal)

– NCAA Tournament second round: $25,000 (unchanged)

– NCAA Tournament Sweet Sixteen: $50,000 (unchanged)

– NCAA Tournament Elite Eight: $50,000 (unchanged)

– NCAA Final Four: $500,000 (was $175,000)

– NCAA title: $1 million (was $500,000)

Grade-point average 

– 3.0-3.29 $175,000 (was $125,000)

– 3.29-3.68 $225,000 (was $175,000)

– 3.69 or above: $250,000 (was $200,000)

NOTE: UA said men's basketball had a collective GPA of 3.175 in the 2025 fall semester.