Kentucky releases Mark Pope's contract details

While Mark Pope has been on the job as the Kentucky head basketball coach for over a month, his official contract details were just released.

On Tuesday, the university released the contract info for Pope and his coaching staff. Pope's contract, which was already reported to be a five-year deal, will run from April 12, 2024 to March 31, 2029.

Over the course of his contract, Pope will earn $27.5 million -- with a $5 million salary and increase of $250k per season.

While Kentucky is part of the 'blue blood' club in college basketball it has failed to make it out of the first weekend since the 2018-19 season. After Covid hit ahead of the 2020 NCAA Tournament, UK missed the 2021 NCAA Tournament and have had a first-round exit in two of the last three seasons.

So, because of that, if Pope makes it to a Sweet Sixteen a bonus will hit. He'll receive an additional $250k for each Sweet Sixteen appearance.

Though that's a nice bump, that's not what Pope is here for. As he stated when he took the job, 'hanging a banner' at Kentucky should be the expectation every season.

“The University of Kentucky is the pinnacle of coaching in college basketball," Pope said. “It’s the definition of blueblood program where hanging a banner is the expectation ever year."

Other incentives for Pope include: $500k for a National Championship, $250k for a Final Four, $100k for a regular-season SEC Championship and $50k for a SEC Tournament title.

Kentucky is coming off of 23-10 record and first round upset loss in the NCAA Tournament to Oakland. Pope led BYU to the NCAA Tournament this past year after a 23-11 season.