Top Duke Athletic Salaries Released

[BlueDevil16]

Coach K - $7.3M
Cut - $2.7M
Kevin White - $1.6M
McCallie - $1.3M

Full article at the Chronicle... https://www.dukechronicle.com/article/2019/12/duke-university-administrators-tax-pay-mike-krzyzewski-price-health-system-endowment

[bundabergdevil]

Coach K - $7.3M
Cut - $2.7M
Kevin White - $1.6M
McCallie - $1.3M

Full article at the Chronicle... https://www.dukechronicle.com/article/2019/12/duke-university-administrators-tax-pay-mike-krzyzewski-price-health-system-endowment

Interesting, for some reason I thought K's salary was more. Maybe closer to $9M? His salary is consistent with other best-of-the-best coach salaries, regardless of sport (Nick Saban, Dabo Swinney, etc) which is the appropriate market benchmark, IMO. Duke Mens BB generates something like $30M in profit annually and the brand equity he's created for the university through a successful basketball program, his Olympic work, and other university commitments is substantial. I'd be interested in seeing a swing at a valuation for Duke Men's Basketball ---


I do wish we could figure out a way to better value/reward professions that delivered societal value. There are several positions on that chart that deliver far more societal worth than coach of Duke Men's Basketball, which may deliver the most value to Duke (maybe, I don't know...) So, there's a quibble with relative valuations but ain't solving that problem tonight!

[JasonEvans]

This is only how much the university pays K and Cut. There are additional monies paid to them for TV/radio shows, summer camps, apparel deals for the teams, and endorsements. In many cases, the apparel deal and the TV/radio shows are a formal part of the coach's contract. I have heard that K makes around $2 mil per year from Nike as part of Nike's deal with the school for the basketball team to wear Nike uniforms and shoes.

[budwom]

Triple Ack over the evident fact (if the article is to be believed) that McCallie makes more money than John Danowski, the winningest college mens' lacrosse coach in history, a man who has three national championships.
Danowski is an absolute prince of a guy. A fabulous representative of the university.

As for K, his salary does go up and down (aside from the Nike payments)...I think a few years ago after a championship Duke reported he earned $10 million that year...I'm sure he has all sorts of incentives (maybe even a bottomless ATM machine in his office).

[HereBeforeCoachK]

McCallie at 1.3 M is a testament to many things...none of them good.

They are paying a lot more than market for a handful of those positions. That's what 75K a year buys a 19 year old's parents I guess.

[Sixthman]

McCallie at 1.3 M is a testament to many things...none of them good.

They are paying a lot more than market for a handful of those positions. That's what 75K a year buys a 19 year old's parents I guess.

No. That’s what a prolific men’s basketball program buys. Tuition does not cover the full cost of educating an undergraduate at Duke.

[weezie]

No. That’s what a prolific men’s basketball program buys...

Amen and good spot there.

[dukelifer]

Interesting, for some reason I thought K's salary was more. Maybe closer to $9M? His salary is consistent with other best-of-the-best coach salaries, regardless of sport (Nick Saban, Dabo Swinney, etc) which is the appropriate market benchmark, IMO. Duke Mens BB generates something like $30M in profit annually and the brand equity he's created for the university through a successful basketball program, his Olympic work, and other university commitments is substantial. I'd be interested in seeing a swing at a valuation for Duke Men's Basketball ---


I do wish we could figure out a way to better value/reward professions that delivered societal value. There are several positions on that chart that deliver far more societal worth than coach of Duke Men's Basketball, which may deliver the most value to Duke (maybe, I don't know...) So, there's a quibble with relative valuations but ain't solving that problem tonight!
It also begs the question- what does K do with all that money. Does K have any hobbies- expensive tastes? A villa in Italy? Does he own a yacht? I know he has given money in the name of his mother - but is that it? Duke subsidizes Athletics by 15M. K would be well paid at 3M a year not including his outside sources. I hope the other 5M is providing some value somewhere.

[MCFinARL]

Triple Ack over the evident fact (if the article is to be believed) that McCallie makes more money than John Danowski, the winningest college mens' lacrosse coach in history, a man who has three national championships.
Danowski is an absolute prince of a guy. A fabulous representative of the university.

As for K, his salary does go up and down (aside from the Nike payments)...I think a few years ago after a championship Duke reported he earned $10 million that year...I'm sure he has all sorts of incentives (maybe even a bottomless ATM machine in his office).

You are right--a graphic in the Chronicle article makes clear that K's base compensation in 2017 was a little over $2.8 million. He also received just under $3 million in incentives and bonuses and $1.3 million in retirement benefits.

Couldn't agree more about John Danowski. His salary is not listed on the 2017 Form 990 that forms the basis for the article, so he clearly makes less than McCallie. Part of that is just basketball versus lacrosse, but still--ugh.

[HereBeforeCoachK]

No. That’s what a prolific men’s basketball program buys. Tuition does not cover the full cost of educating an undergraduate at Duke.

You took a rhetorical jab as an exact literal statement......it was the former, not the latter.

And yes, basketball and Clemson football (via ACC sharing) is what pays for ALL OF THIS.....

[uh_no]

It also begs the question- what does K do with all that money. Does K have any hobbies- expensive tastes? A villa in Italy? Does he own a yacht? I know he has given money in the name of his mother - but is that it? Duke subsidizes Athletics by 15M. K would be well paid at 3M a year not including his outside sources. I hope the other 5M is providing some value somewhere.

I'm sure the upkeep of his 2 million dollar property is more than most of us would care to think about.

Aside from the emily k center, i'd imagine K probably makes a nice contribution to the church.

[HereBeforeCoachK]

It also begs the question- what does K do with all that money. Does K have any hobbies- expensive tastes? A villa in Italy? Does he own a yacht? I know he has given money in the name of his mother - but is that it? Duke subsidizes Athletics by 15M. K would be well paid at 3M a year not including his outside sources. I hope the other 5M is providing some value somewhere.

No, it doesn't beg that question at all. I am not aware of what any of the big money coaches do with their money, and it's not something I even think about. I knew from way back that K owned a house at Emerald Isle....maybe he's upgraded to the Caribbean or gulf coast of Florida or something. I know K likes to travel, including Vegas and some other destinations.

But I must take exception with saying that he would be well paid at 3M a year. For better or worse, that's not what the GOAT college hoops coach should be paid - and the logical indication of your post is that he should spend 3M on himself and his family and put the other 5M into a worthy cause. I"m sure he puts 3M or so into the IRS.

[bundabergdevil]

I'm sure the upkeep of his 2 million dollar property is more than most of us would care to think about.

Aside from the emily k center, i'd imagine K probably makes a nice contribution to the church.

I'd watch the Coach K episode of Cribs...

[budwom]

It also begs the question- what does K do with all that money. Does K have any hobbies- expensive tastes? A villa in Italy? Does he own a yacht? I know he has given money in the name of his mother - but is that it? Duke subsidizes Athletics by 15M. K would be well paid at 3M a year not including his outside sources. I hope the other 5M is providing some value somewhere.

Among other things, K has heirs. Lots and lots and lots of heirs.

[uh_no]

Among other things, K has heirs. Lots and lots and lots of heirs.

pretty sure more heirs than hairs if not now then soon :D

[dukelifer]

No, it doesn't beg that question at all. I am not aware of what any of the big money coaches do with their money, and it's not something I even think about. I knew from way back that K owned a house at Emerald Isle...maybe he's upgraded to the Caribbean or gulf coast of Florida or something. I know K likes to travel, including Vegas and some other destinations.

But I must take exception with saying that he would be well paid at 3M a year. For better or worse, that's not what the GOAT college hoops coach should be paid - and the logical indication of your post is that he should spend 3M on himself and his family and put the other 5M into a worthy cause. I"m sure he puts 3M or so into the IRS.

Well coaching is a funny thing. There are lots of people who can coach. One might argue that Tony Bennett has been just as successful as K of late and is paid on order 3M. Same for Roy Williams who makes the same. Coaches should receive a base salary and then get incentives. Paying K three times as much based on past performance is a bit odd to me.

Since his salary is so large - it constrains what the University can do in athletics. Good assistant coaches in football need to get paid. Again- I understand what value K has brought over time- but his salary is very large.

[dukelifer]

No. That’s what a prolific men’s basketball program buys. Tuition does not cover the full cost of educating an undergraduate at Duke.

Well tuition does not cover the cost of running a University but I suspect it more than covers the education of those students.

[OldPhiKap]

Top three clearly earning their salary IMHO.

[Tappan Zee Devil]

It also begs the question- what does K do with all that money. Does K have any hobbies- expensive tastes? A villa in Italy? Does he own a yacht? I know he has given money in the name of his mother - but is that it? Duke subsidizes Athletics by 15M. K would be well paid at 3M a year not including his outside sources. I hope the other 5M is providing some value somewhere.

I would guess that he tithes to the church.

[msdukie]

Since his salary is so large - it constrains what the University can do in athletics. Good assistant coaches in football need to get paid. Again- I understand what value K has brought over time- but his salary is very large.

The Duke portion of his salary is also fully endowed by the Duke Basketball Legacy Fund as are the assistant coaches.

[TheDevilMadeMeDoIt]

I suspect a real analysis of what Coach K has brought to Duke in terms of excellence and name recognition far exceeds what he has received in salary. Compare his salary to what a failed CEO such as Boeng’s recently fired guy made. I might add that I generally believe many coaches and CEOs are overpaid. When you are the best EVER then you earn and deserve every penny, and probably more.

[HereBeforeCoachK]

Well coaching is a funny thing. There are lots of people who can coach. One might argue that Tony Bennett has been just as successful as K of late and is paid on order 3M. Same for Roy Williams who makes the same. Coaches should receive a base salary and then get incentives. Paying K three times as much based on past performance is a bit odd to me.

Since his salary is so large - it constrains what the University can do in athletics. Good assistant coaches in football need to get paid. Again- I understand what value K has brought over time- but his salary is very large.

You don't give up do you? The Bennett analogy is very flawed. Just as Dabo wasn't paid like Saban until a few years after he got Clemson on the same plane, the same situation is at UVa vis a vis Duke. The man who brings the most revenue to the ACC now is Dabo, followed by K, FWIW.

As for K constraining what the university can do.....I'm quite sure that men's basketball is the only sport generating a profit at Duke. The FB program isn't, unless you allocate the ACC's rev share almost exclusively to football (thank you Dabo again). The 1.3 paid to a mediocre to the long time coach of a poor WBB program is constraining, not K's salary. Money may be fungible going out, but it comes in through very specific individual avenues.

And then there's the fact that some or all of the coach pay does not come from the general athletic operating fund.

[bundabergdevil]

You don't give up do you? The Bennett analogy is very flawed. Just as Dabo wasn't paid like Saban until a few years after he got Clemson on the same plane, the same situation is at UVa vis a vis Duke. The man who brings the most revenue to the ACC now is Dabo, followed by K, FWIW.

As for K constraining what the university can do....I'm quite sure that men's basketball is the only sport generating a profit at Duke. The FB program isn't, unless you allocate the ACC's rev share almost exclusively to football (thank you Dabo again). The 1.3 paid to a mediocre to the long time coach of a poor WBB program is constraining, not K's salary. Money may be fungible going out, but it comes in through very specific individual avenues.

And then there's the fact that some or all of the coach pay does not come from the general athletic operating fund.

I believe I've seen data to support this before but a quick google search didn't yield any results. I did find data from the past few years that says Duke football runs about a $8M deficit.There's plenty of info on Duke MBB generating a profit, just not much on the other sports.

[budwom]

I believe I've seen data to support this before but a quick google search didn't yield any results. I did find data from the past few years that says Duke football runs about a $8M deficit.There's plenty of info on Duke MBB generating a profit, just not much on the other sports.

Coming up with meaningful profitabiity numbers is very very difficult, because various institutions allocate costs (and overhead) in many different ways. Having worked in big bidness for many years, I've seen all sorts of allocation schemes* ranging from the logical to the grotesquely absurd. Having said that, and knowing how well Duke has managed scarcity with regard to hoop tickets, I can easily believe men's hoops makes a profit by most logical measures.

I'd bet old pal Duke74 could weigh in on the wacky world of cost allocation.

[HereBeforeCoachK]

Coming up with meaningful profitabiity numbers is very very difficult, because various institutions allocate costs (and overhead) in many different ways. Having worked in big bidness for many years, I've seen all sorts of allocation schemes* ranging from the logical to the grotesquely absurd. Having said that, and knowing how well Duke has managed scarcity with regard to hoop tickets, I can easily believe men's hoops makes a profit by most logical measures.

I'd bet old pal Duke74 could weigh in on the wacky world of cost allocation.

I mentioned the ability to allocate in whatever way to show whatever one would want to show...that said, it makes perfect logical sense that Duke FB runs a deficit. There are two main revenue sources, and we stink at one of them.

And yes, Duke hoops is a TV money machine, for Duke and for the league as a whole.

[BigWayne]

It also begs the question- what does K do with all that money. Does K have any hobbies- expensive tastes? A villa in Italy? Does he own a yacht? I know he has given money in the name of his mother - but is that it? Duke subsidizes Athletics by 15M. K would be well paid at 3M a year not including his outside sources. I hope the other 5M is providing some value somewhere.

Really? What business of yours is it how he spends his money? So what if he has a yacht. Maybe a nice big million dollar pool? I have a friend that makes a living building pools for rich people. He doesn't make enough to have a pool at his own house, but he feeds his family without living off charity.

[MartyClark]

Really? What business of yours is it how he spends his money? So what if he has a yacht. Maybe a nice big million dollar pool? I have a friend that makes a living building pools for rich people. He doesn't make enough to have a pool at his own house, but he feeds his family without living off charity.

It's probably not our business but it's an interesting question nevertheless. When is enough enough? What does a wealthy person like K do with his money? I suspect he is extremely charitable.

I think it may be a relevant question in this era, where many contend that coaches are paid too much at the expense of the athletes who, in their opinion, deserve compensation.

[HereBeforeCoachK]

It's probably not our business but it's an interesting question nevertheless. When is enough enough? What does a wealthy person like K do with his money? I suspect he is extremely charitable..

That question is simply not relevant until you can answer this one:

Who gets to decide what enough is?

You'll never answer the second question, so the first one remains a moot point.