REPORT: Donovan agrees to extension with Florida Gators

Florida Gators head basketball coach Billy Donovan has signed an amended, one-year contract extension that will carry him through the 2020 season and raise his salary to just over $4 million dollars according to Kevin Brockway of the Gainesville Sun.

Donovan’s base salary was $4.2 million in 2014-25 but that number will drop to $3.9 million in 2016. Under the new terms, Donovan’s compensation will stay at $4 million throughout the duration, from 2016-2020.

This makes Donovan the sixth highest paid basketball coach in the country behind John Calipari ($6.36 million), Mike Krzyzewski ($6.04 million), Rick Pitino ($6 million), Bill Self ($4.96 million) and Tom Izzo ($4.01 million).

The announcement of the raise coincides with rumors swirling that Donovan will be hunted by NBA teams — something that happens annually but with a little more steam behind the rumors this time around, or so it seems. However, Brockway reports that the deal was agreed to last summer, after the Gators’ fifth Final Four run in school history.

“I’ll be honest with you, I hope he’s here for a long time,” Athletic Director Jeremy Foley said of Donovan in February. “Billy’s our guy, and I think he’s very happy here. We’re committed to him and we’ll continue to be committed to him. That’s why when you’re talking about peaks and valleys, we’re blessed.”

Donovan will turn 50 in May and joined only Bob Knight as NCAA coaches to win their 500th game before turning 50.

Nick de la Torre
A South Florida native, Nick developed a passion for all things sports at a very young age. His love for baseball was solidified when he saw Al Leiter’s no-hitter for the Marlins live in May of 1996. He was able to play baseball in college but quickly realized there isn’t much of a market for short, slow outfielders that hit around the Mendoza line. Wanting to continue with sports in some capacity he studied journalism at the University of Central Florida. Nick got his first start in the business as an intern for a website covering all things related to the NFL draft before spending two seasons covering the Florida football team at Bleacher Report. That job led him to GatorCountry. When he isn’t covering Gator sports, Nick enjoys hitting way too many shots on the golf course, attempting to keep up with his favorite t.v. shows and watching the Heat, Dolphins and Marlins. Follow him on twitter @NickdelatorreGC