Done Deal: Coach Beard $35 Million Longhorns Contract Details

The Texas Longhorns lock up their new head coach, Chris Beard, to a 7-year, $35 million deal

Matt Galatzan | Apr 3, 2021

The Texas Longhorns have officially agreed to a deal with their new head coach, Chris Beard, to a 7-year $35 million contract, locking him in as the team's new head coach.

The agreement, which was first reported by Chip Brown on 247Sports, will keep Beard in Austin through 2028, and earn him an average base salary of $5 million per year with incentives.

Before his incentives, Beard will earn slightly less than new Texas football head coach Steve Sarkisian, which will earn him $5.2 million in 2021, $5.4 million in 2022, $5.6 million in 2023, $5.8 million in 2024, $6 million in 2025, and $6.2 million in the deal' final year in 2026.

After the incentives, Beard has the potential to earn beyond Sarkisian's base deal, which is not only a rare occurrence in college sports but will also bring with it a great deal of expectations.

"Those expectations and standards don't scare me," Beard said. "Don't get it twisted, it's the reason that I'm here."

According to the report, Beard's new contract will have as much as 70-percent guaranteed.

Beard now takes over a program set to sustain substantial roster turnover, following the exits of sophomore Kai Jones to the NBA, as well as the losses of seniors Jericho Sims and Matt Coleman III... Not to mention the potential NBA declaration of freshman forward Greg Brown, who is projected as a mid first-round pick in the 2021 NBA draft.

However, despite that, and with his new contract in hand, Beard is fully prepared for the expectations facing him on the 40 Acres for years to come and ready to return the program to its former standards.

"I understand the standards of the University of Texas," Beard said Friday during his introductory press conference. "I understand where our men's basketball program is going to be and needs to be and deserves to be."

CONTINUE READING: Coach Cash: Does Money Buy Longhorns Happiness?

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Published Apr 3, 2021

MATT GALATZAN

Matt Galatzan is the Managing Editor and Publisher of Texas Longhorns On SI and Texas A&M Aggies On SI and a long-time member of the Football Writer’s Association of America. He graduated from the University of Mississippi, where he studied integrated marketing communications, with minors in journalism and business administration. Galatzan started in the sports journalism industry in 2014 covering the Dallas Mavericks and SMU Mustangs with 247Sports. He then moved to Sports Illustrated's Fan Nation network in 2020, eventually being taking over as the Managing Editor and Publisher of the Longhorns and Aggies sites a year later. You can find Galatzan on all major social media channels, including Twitter on @MattGalatzan.