Dawn Staley's contract: South Carolina HC's salary structure, yearly earnings and more explored

Dawn Staley has established herself as one of the premier coaches in women's college basketball. The South Carolina Gamecocks coach and two-time Naismith College Player of the Year has won two national championships and three Naismith Coach of the Year awards. The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famer has also led the Gamecocks to five Final Fours after they had previously never advanced that far in program history.

In eight seasons coaching the Temple Owls, she compiled a 172-80 record. She has spent the last 16 seasons leading South Carolina to a 434-106 record. Staley has won a total of 12 conference championships between her two stops, while winning nine conference Coach of the Year awards. Take a look at how much the Gamecocks coach earns below.

Read more: Deion Sanders heaps praise on South Carolina HC Dawn Staley following Gamecocks' SEC title win

What are South Carolina Gamecocks coach Dawn Staley's contract details?

Ahead of the 2021-22 season, Dawn Staley signed a contract extension with the South Carolina Gamecocks that will keep her with the program through the 2027-28 season. The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famer signed a seven-year, $22.4 million contract.

She earned $2.9 million in her first season in the role and an additional $100,000 in each season. Staley will be set to earn $3.5 million in her final season of the contract, provided that she does not receive a raise before that. She has a base salary of $1 million with the rest of the salary listed as outside compensation. The contract also includes performance-based compensation opportunities of up to $680,000 each season.

In a statement after signing the deal, Staley said:

"It's always been an honor to represent the University of South Carolina, and this contract represents the University's commitment to supporting me and our women's basketball program. Contract negotiations are challenging, but this one was especially important as I knew it could be a benchmark, an example for other universities to invest in their women's basketball programs, too.

"Our game continues to grow and the time is ripe to make a big step forward, but only if universities foster that growth by committing resources that are equitable to those given to their men's programs... The money is staggering. It really wasn't about the money, but it takes the money for this recognition to be eye-opening." [h/t ESPN]

Dawn Staley and the Gamecocks went on to win the national title in her first season after signing the extension. They will enter the 2024 NCAA Tournament as the presumptive title favorites after finishing the regular season and conference tournament undefeated.