Florida head coach Todd Golden walks near his bench during the second half of an SEC Men’s Basketball Tournament quarterfinal game against Kentucky, Friday, March 13, 2026, in Nashville, Tenn. Photo by Noah Lantor | The Independent Florida Alligator
On Friday, August 28, the Florida Gators announced they were locking down men’s basketball head coach Todd Golden with a new six-year contract worth $49.4 million. The contract will pay Golden an annual salary of $7.5 million, with an increase of $300,000 each year until it reaches $9 million in the final year of the contract.
Golden is now the highest-paid men’s basketball coach in Florida history and the second-highest-paid coach in the SEC, behind Arkansas head coach John Calipari. He ranks fourth nationally behind Kansas’ Bill Self, UConn’s Dan Hurley and Calipari.
An interesting addition to the contract, as reported by Graham Hall of 247Sports, is that if Scott Stricklin is no longer the Florida Gators athletic director, Golden’s buyout would drop to $5 million over the next two seasons. His buyout is currently $16 million this coming year and $13 million the following year. If Golden chooses to leave for an NBA job, his buyout would fall to $0 for the remainder of the contract.
In his four years in Gainesville, Golden has had no shortage of success. He has compiled a 103-41 record, including a 50-22 mark in SEC play. Golden has led Florida to an SEC regular-season title, the eighth in Gators history and the first since the 2013-14 season under Billy Donovan. He also led the Gators to an SEC Tournament title, the fifth in school history and first since 2014.
That success culminated in a historic 2025 NCAA Tournament run, when Florida defeated No. 1 seed Houston 65-63 to win its first national championship since 2007, when the Gators went back-to-back.
This past offseason, Golden received interest from other NCAA and NBA teams with head coaching vacancies but ultimately chose to remain in Gainesville. Golden was also able to bring back stars Alex Condon, Thomas Haugh and Rueben Chinyelu after they tested the NBA waters, keeping them in Gainesville for their senior seasons.
Barring any setbacks with the potential addition of former Gator Denzel Aberdeen, Florida is looking for another strong season. The Gators enter the year with high expectations, with multiple outlets projecting Florida as the preseason No. 1 team in the country.
With Golden now locked into a long-term contract, Florida has made it clear that its national championship-winning head coach is here to stay.