Once an Auburn man, always an Auburn man, right? That’s the way former Auburn football player Kerryon Johnson seems to think, anyway. The NFL running back is one of the most involved Auburn alumni on Twitter and frequently comments on his alma mater.
With the recent news of Kansas Jayhawks men’s basketball coach Bill Self signing what the program is calling a lifetime contract, of course, Kerryon Johnson put his two cents out on the topic. The former Auburn football running back wants to know when Coach Bruce Pearl is getting his own lifetime contract.
Self’s contract with the Jayhawks isn’t a new concept–coaches like Michigan State’s Tom Izzo and Purdue’s Matt Painter both have rolling contracts that renew each year according to USA Today. Self will have a similar arrangement in a five-year rolling contract that automatically adds on year on to the contract at the end of each season.
Could this type of deal be in the cards for Auburn basketball’s Bruce Pearl?
Alright so when does @coachbrucepearl get a lifetime contract???
— Kerryon Johnson (@CoachKerryon) April 2, 2021
Pearl is currently under a five-year contract that he signed after leading the program to the Final Four in the 2018-2019 season. According to Tom Green of AL.com, the contract went into effect May 1, 2019, and will run through April 30, 2024:
"In all, Pearl will earn $3.8 million in the first year of his deal, $3,925,000 during the 2020-21 season, $4,050,000 in 2021-22, $4,175,000 in 2022-23 and $4.3 million in the final year of the contract."
It’s not very likely that Pearl’s contract will change again before 2024 unless something major happens. After all, the five years on the contract aren’t even halfway up, and the team is coming off a year where they didn’t participate in the post-season. Not exactly encouragement to create a fancy new contract.
While it may not be exclusively Bruce Pearl’s fault that the team missed out on March Madness this year, there is nothing pointing to the big wigs giving Pearl an upgrade. However, things could quickly change if the Tigers go on an NCAA tournament run in the upcoming season.
You never know, but it’s likely that if Bruce Pearl is going to receive a lifetime contract it won’t be soon. Sorry, Kerryon.