Dan Hurley UConn contract and why he rejected Lakers’ offer

• Dan Hurley UConn contract for six years stands at $32.1 million
• The biggest surprise yet for the Los Angeles Lakers is that Hurley rejected their $70 million offer
• The Huskies men’s basketball coach at the University of Connecticut signed this contract in 2023

Dan Hurley UConn contract for six years stands at $32.1 million. The biggest surprise for the Los Angeles Lakers is that Hurley rejected their $70 million offer as the team’s next coach.

The Huskies men’s basketball coach at the University of Connecticut signed this contract in 2023. It has huge performance-based bonuses beyond its face value meaning he could take home over $50 million. Why did he turn down the Lakers though in what seems like a huge elevation in his basketball career? Read on and find out.

How is Dan Hurley UConn Contract Like?

The New Jersey-born NCAA coach has a lucrative six-year contract with the University of Connecticut minimally valued at $32.1 million. This amount doesn’t include huge incentives based on his performance. Adding them up gives you at least $50 million in total value of his contract with the Bridgeport-based university.

A clause in Dan Hurley UConn contract states that that he would have to part with $1.875 million in the event he exits the team.

University of Connecticut men’s basketball coach Dan Hurley. Photo/The UConn Blog

How Much Does Dan Hurley Get Paid?

Hurley gets a base salary of $5 million at UConn but he takes home more than this when you add his bonuses based on a season’s performance. For example, his total pay for the 2023-24 season is $6.8 million; $1.8 million more from incentives.

Spotrac identifies his 12 bonuses as follows.

• $100,000 for a title in the regular season
• $100,000 for UConn’s title in Big East
• $150,000 for top 10 ranking in the NCAA championship
• $50,000 for his tourney bid
• $50,000 for first-round win
• $100,000 for Sweet 16
• $200,000 for making it to the Elite 8 in the NCAA championship
• $200,000 for proceeding to the final four in the NCAA’s season tournament
• $200,000 for the NCAA title appearance
• $500,000 for winning the NCAA title
• $50,000 for winning the Big East men’s Basketball tournament
• $100,000 for NCAA COTY

The Huskies men’s basketball coach at the University of Connecticut. Photo/Getty Images

How Much Money Did the Lakers Offer Dan Hurley?

The Lakers offered the 51-year-old UConn coach a six-year $70 million deal. Hurley’s success in the NCAA championship for a consecutive second year made him a prized asset for the 17-time NBA champions.

However, he turned down this lucrative offer paying him more than double his current contract with UConn. His focus is set on winning a third successive title with the Huskies.  He won the 2022-23, and 2023-24 seasons in a row and he feels he is not yet done.

Last week on Thursday, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN reported that the Lakers were fine-tuning a six-year contract for the Huskies’ head coach.  Hurley was also to have a meeting with the owner of the Los Angeles Lakers owner Jeanie Buss together with Rob Pelinka the team’s general manager on Friday. It never happened.

David Benedict, currently serving as the University of Connecticut athletic director announced that Dan Hurley UConn contract held it together. Benedict said that the varsity’s head coach decided to stay at Bridgeport.

According to UConn, Hurley is an important figure in its tradition of winning the NCAA championship. The former Wagner and Rhode Island basketball coach revamped the varsity basketball team and took it back to the winning streak.  He joined the NCAA team in March 2022 and has registered a 141-58 titles record in the six seasons he has worked with the team.

Why Did Dan Hurley Reject the Lakers Offer?

LeBron James. Photo/SkySports

Hurley is in the run for a third NCAA title win next season. He derives his inspiration from the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) which bagged its seventh consecutive NCAA Championship title in 1973.

On a wider scope, he has never coached an NBA team ever before. His basketball history is all in the NCAA where he built a reputation of the most brilliant collegiate basketball coach. Hurley has an eye for bringing out the best among his players.

Despite his tactical brilliance, the Lakers is a different cup of tea from what the University of Connecticut has. With the likes of the All-time scorer in the NBA LeBron James in the team, Hurley’s skills would likely take longer to blend in with the team.

Still, he would have added some zeal to the Los Angeles NBA team given his stellar record in onboarding talent. Most of UConn’s drafts always perform exceedingly well in the league after their drafting.

Conclusion

Dan Hurley’s hesitation to join the Lakers as its head coach has more to do with his NCAA legacy than lucrative contracts in the NBA.  At 51, his focus is highly on the NCAA more than writing afresh in the NBA where he has never coached.