Mike Krzyzewski earned roughly $12.4 million in net compensation in 2020, USA Today reported Tuesday.
That figure is the most ever paid to an active college coach — meaning not a coach whose contract was bought out — since the publication started tracking coaches pay in 2006, per the report. Alabama’s Nick Saban earned $11.1 million in 2017.
Krzyzewski, 75, retired after the 2022 NCAA Tournament, in which Duke reached the national semifinals. In his 42-year tenure, he led Duke to five NCAA championships and is the all-time leader in victories.
USA Today gleaned Krzyzewski’s 2020 pay from the school’s federal tax returns for the calendar year. As a private institution, it is not required to release coaching contracts to the public.
The returns showed he earned about $3.3 million in base salary, just more than $7 million in other reportable compensation and more than $1.1 million in retirement and other deferred compensation.
“Mike Krzyzewski is the most successful college basketball coach in history whose record and accomplishments will probably never be matched,” said
Duke spokesman Michael Schoenfeld in a statement to USA Today. “Coach K’s compensation has always reflected his strong commitment to athletic and academic success for 42 years at Duke, and his extensive and impactful service to the university, the community and the country.”
Schoenfeld said the report included a “one-time payment of deferred compensation … that was accrued over prior years.”