Coach Danny Sprinkle’s Official Contract with Utah State

Coach Danny Sprinkle has worked miracles at Utah State since being hired before the 2023-24 season. Not only is he a shoo-in for Mountain West Coach of the Year, but he is also in the running for National Coach of the year. Coach Sprinkle returned zero points, assist, and rebounds from last season’s team, built a brand new roster and amazingly won the Mountain West Conference outright. And this wasn’t any old Mountain West Conference this year. This was possibly the best Mountain West Conference ever with upwards of 6 teams headed for the NCAA Tournament.

While Danny and team were cutting down the nets last night in the Spectrum after a hard fought victory over the New Mexico Lobos, the fans couldn’t help but wonder how long he would remain at Utah State. Chants of “Danny Sprinkle… (clap clap clap-clap-clap)” rang through the Spectrum during the Senior Night ceremonies and the net cutting ceremony.

Back in May, USUStats was able to obtain Coach Sprinkle’s Initial Contract that was a high level agreement between Coach Sprinkle and Utah State, but not his official contract that includes all the details. Since then, USUStats has obtained Danny’s Official Contract.

Here’s the breakdown of what is included in the contract:

Base Pay (Including Media Compensation):

Year 1 – $900,000
Year 2 – $925,000
Year 3 – $950,000
Year 4 – $975,000
Year 5 – $1,000,000

The base contract is five years at $900K per year with a $25K raise each year.

Bonuses:

Team wins the National Championship = $100,000
Team qualifies as a Final Four Participant = $50,000
Team wins the Conference Tournament Championship = $25,000
Team wins the regular season Conference Championship (either outright
Champion or Co-Champion) = $15,000
Team maintains a single-year Academic Progress Rate (APR) of 950 = $10,000
Team granted an at-large NCAA Tournament Bid = $20,000
Team wins an NCAA Tournament Game (including a First Four Game, but excluding the National Championship Game) = $20,000
Note: each win at an NCAA Tournament will qualify Coach for a $20,000
incentive payment.
Team invited to the National Invitation Tournament = $10,000
Team wins the National Invitation Tournament Championship = $10,000
Team is ranked (Associated Press Poll) at the end of a season in the:
Top 10 = $50,000
Top 20 = $25,000
Top 25 = $10,000
Note: This category of supplemental compensation is mutually exclusive,
meaning that only one amount will be paid if the Team is ranked within the Top 25 (e.g. If the team was ranked as 14, then $25,000 would be awarded; NOT $25,000 for the Top 20 AND $10,000 for the Top 25.
Coach is selected as the “Conference Coach of the Year” by the Conference as voted by the Conference coaches = $10,000
Coach is selected as the national “Coach of the Year” by the Associated Press, the Atlanta Tipoff Club (Naismith College Coach of the Year), or the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) = $25,000
Team wins a rival game against BYU or University of Utah = $5,000

Buyout Clause (in my own words):

If Utah State were to terminate the agreement for convenience (i.e. USU fires Sprinkle for low performance), they are required to pay 75% of the pro-rated amount of base pay still remaining on the contract.

For example, at the start of his employment, Coach Sprinkle has a total of $4,750,000 in remaining salary on the 5-year agreement. If he were to be immediately fired, he would be owed 75% of that which would be $3,562,500. If he were to be fired after the completion of his second season he would be owed $2,193,750 ($2,925,000 * .75).

The same goes for the inverse. If Coach Sprinkle were to terminate the agreement for convenience (i.e. Sprinkle leaves for another position elsewhere) the buyout would also be 75% of the remaining cumulative salary owed. However, there is an extra clause that favors Coach Sprinkle the longer he stays at Utah State. The buyout is reduced to only 50% of the remaining salary after the completion of the second year as coach (April 1, 2025), and for the remainder of his contract. So if Sprinkle were to leave after his first year at Utah State, he would be required to pay USU a buyout of $2,887,500 ($3,850,000*0.75).

Click the image below to download the full initial contract agreement.

Coach Danny Sprinkle’s Contract with Utah State

For Utah State Basketball fans, this past year has been quite the whirlwind. Going into the season expectations were not high, and Utah State was picked to finish 8th in the Mountain West preseason poll. The Aggies picked up a couple of key transfers in Dan Akin and Taylor Funk and ended up exceeding all expectations. The Aggies NET rating was in the top 40 all season, ending the year at #23. Utah State finished the season with a 26-9 record and made it to the Mountain West Conference Championship, once again facing San Diego State. Fun fact: The Aggies and Aztecs have met in 4 of the last 5 Mountain West Tournament Championships. The Aggies fell just short to the Aztecs (who ended up as National Championship runner-ups), but still received an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament. It was the all-familiar story for Aggie fans in the Big Dance as the team fell short once again in the first round, suffering a 76-65 loss to Missouri.

Optimism was in the air, but was quickly deflated as rumors of Ryan Odom leaving town started swirling around Cache Valley. Odom was rumored to be the top target for the University of Southern Florida job, but ended up becoming the head coach for VCU. Despair was creeping in the weeks passed by with no head coach in Logan, and Aggie players entering the transfer portal left and right.

Enter Danny Sprinkle. Utah State’s interim athletics director Jerry Bovee was able to lure away the head coach of the Montana State Bobcats to be the new coach at Utah State. This was no easy task as Danny was a basketball star at Montana State during his playing years, and was essentially in his dream job. But the promise of a large increase in salary, with the privilege of playing in one of the top college basketball atmospheres in the country sealed the deal. During his introductory press conference Danny said: “As for the Spectrum, it is one of the best home-court atmospheres in the country, and I can’t wait to work with The HURD and get that place rocking.” Danny led Montana State to an 81-43 record while head coach, including two straight NCAA Tournament Appearances. He hopes to continue this level of success and consistent post-season appearances at Utah State.

Despite losing every meaningful contributor from the 2022-23 Utah State Basketball squad, Coach Sprinkle has infused optimism in the program, securing several key transfers to include:
Darius Brown II (Sr. from Montana State) – Defensive player of the year in the Big Sky
Great Osobor (Jr. from Montana State) – 6th man of the year in the Big Sky
Nigel Burris (Jr. from Idaho) – Freshmen of the year in the Big Sky
Josh Uduje (Jr. from Coastal Carolina) – Dynamic scorer who averaged 13.3 points per game last year
Jackson Grant (Jr. from Washington) – Former McDonald’s All American
Max Agbonkpolo (Sr. from Wyoming) – 4 star-recruit who played for USC and then Wyoming

USUStats was able to obtain a copy of Danny Sprinkle’s initial contract with Utah State. This is not the finalized contract, but a higher level agreement between Danny and the University. It includes the main important aspects, but does not yet define details for bonuses that may be achieved through in-season accomplishments.

Here’s the breakdown of what is included in the contract:

Base Pay (Including Media Compensation):

Year 1 – $900,000
Year 2 – $925,000
Year 3 – $950,000
Year 4 – $975,000
Year 5 – $1,000,000

The base contract is five years at $900K per year with a $25K raise each year.

Staff Salary Pool:

The agreement includes $530K to be used for three assistant coaches and $150K for operations and administrative positions and one full-time Grad Assistant. It states that the assistant salary pool will be reviewed annually between the Coach and University.

Bonuses:

The bonuses are not specified, but the agreement states that the incentive payments will be “reasonably consistent with the terms of incentive payments for USU’s most recent head men’s basketball coach.” Coach Ryan Odom’s contract details can be found on this blog post from March, 2022.

Buyout Clause (in my own words):

If Utah State were to terminate the agreement for convenience (i.e. USU fires Sprinkle for low performance), they are required to pay 75% of the pro-rated amount of base pay still remaining on the contract.

For example, at the start of his employment, Coach Sprinkle has a total of $4,750,000 in remaining salary on the 5-year agreement. If he were to be immediately fired, he would be owed 75% of that which would be $3,562,500. If he were to be fired after the completion of his second season he would be owed $2,193,750 ($2,925,000 * .75).

The same goes for the inverse. If Coach Sprinkle were to terminate the agreement for convenience (i.e. Sprinkle leaves for another position elsewhere) the buyout would also be 75% of the remaining cumulative salary owed. However, there is an extra clause that favors Coach Sprinkle the longer he stays at Utah State. The buyout is reduced to only 50% of the remaining salary after the completion of the second year as coach, and for the remainder of his contract.

Differences between the Sprinkle contract and previous contracts:

Coach Sprinkle’s contract is actually more similar to Coach Craig Smith’s contract than Coach Ryan Odom’s contract. Coach Smith had the built in raises, whereas coach Odom’s salary stayed stable at $800K per year for 5 years. However, Coach Sprinkle’s contract started out as the highest paying initial men’s coach contract ever at Utah State. Coach Smith started at $650,000 and Coach Odom started at $800,000 while Coach Sprinkle starts out at $900,000. The incentive bonuses will likely be similar between all three contracts.

Coach Sprinkle’s buyout clause seems to be a mix between what was offered to the last two coaches. Coach Smith had a 75% buyout clause for both parties, but that clause was quickly changed to be much more favorable to Coach Smith upon his contract extension. Coach Odom’s buyout started out at only 50% of the remaining salary and shifted to only 35% of the remaining salary after the completion of his second season. It appears that Utah State is interested in keeping Coach Sprinkle long term, or at least would like to be well compensated if coach decides to leave for another program.

Click the image below to download the full initial contract agreement.

USUStats will post the full employment agreement once it is signed and obtained. What are your thoughts on the new coach and the initial contract agreement?

Coach Ryan Odom’s Contract with Utah State

With Utah State’s season coming to a close with a heartbreaking loss to Colorado State in the quarterfinals of the Mountain West Tournament in Las Vegas, the Aggies are hoping for some type of postseason tournament invite. With a NET rating of 61, they won’t be getting in to the NCAA tournament this year, but they do have a decent shot at the NIT or at worst, one of the lesser tournaments (CBI or CIT).

Utah State Coach Ryan Odom

After losing coach Craig Smith to the University of Utah in the off-season, Utah State hired Ryan Odom from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC). Coach Odom’s claim to fame was leading his UMBC Retrievers to a 20 point victory over Virginia in the 2018 NCAA Tournament. The Retrievers were the first 16-seed to ever beat a #1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. Ryan Odom is the son of Dave Odom who coached East Carolina, Virginia, Wake Forest, and South Carolina.

USUStats has obtained Coach Odom’s contract with Utah State. Here are some interesting takeaways from the agreement:

Base Pay (including $300,000 for media appearances per year):

Year 1 – $791,796 (pro-rated amount for 360 days out of 365)
Year 2 – $800,000
Year 3 – $800,000
Year 4 – $800,000
Year 5 – $800,000

The base contract is $500K per year plus $300K for media appearances. Interestingly there are no built in raises each year.

Bonuses:

Team wins the National Championship = $100,000
Team qualifies as a Final Four Participant = $50,000
Team wins the Conference Tournament Championship = $25,000
Team wins the regular season Conference Championship (either outright
Champion or Co-Champion) = $15,000
Team maintains a multi-year Academic Progress Rate (APR) of 952 = $10,000
Team granted an at-large NCAA Tournament Bid = $20,000
Team wins an NCAA Tournament Game (including a First Four Game, but excluding the National Championship Game) = $20,000
Note: each win at an NCAA Tournament will qualify Coach for a $20,000
incentive payment.
Team invited to the National Invitation Tournament = $10,000
Team wins the National Invitation Tournament Championship = $10,000
Team is ranked (Associated Press Poll) at the end of a season in the:
Top 10 = $50,000
Top 20 = $25,000
Top 25 = $10,000
Note: This category of supplemental compensation is mutually exclusive,
meaning that only one amount will be paid if the Team is ranked within the Top 25 (e.g. If the team was ranked as 14, then $25,000 would be awarded; NOT $25,000 for the Top 20 AND $10,000 for the Top 25.
Coach is selected as the “Conference Coach of the Year” by the Conference as voted by the Conference coaches = $10,000
Coach is selected as the national “Coach of the Year” by the Associated Press, the Atlanta Tipoff Club (Naismith College Coach of the Year), or the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) = $25,000
Team wins a rival game against BYU or University of Utah = $5,000

Buyout Clause (in my own words):

If Utah State were to terminate the agreement for convenience (i.e. USU fires Odom for low performance), they are required to pay 75% of the pro-rated amount of base pay still remaining on the contract.

For example, as of March 31, 2022 Coach Odom will have $3.2M remaining on his contract for years 2-5. If Utah State were to fire him, they would owe 75% of that remaining salary, or $2.4M.

If Coach Odom were to terminate the agreement for convenience (i.e. Odom leaves for another position elsewhere), it gets a bit more complicated. If he were to leave any time during years 1 or 2 (before April 1, 2023), the buyout would be 50% of the remaining cumulative salary owed. If he were to leave during year 3 or thereafter (April 1, 2023 or after), the buyout would be 35% of the remaining cumulative salary owed.

For example, if coach accepted another position on March 31, 2022, the buyout would be 50% of the remaining $3.2M on his contract for years 2-5, or $1.6M. If he were to leave on April 1, 2023 the buyout would be 35% of the remaining $2.4M on his contract, or $840K.

Differences between the Smith and Odom contracts:

A few things were different between Craig Smith’s original contract and Coach Odom’s contract. Coach Smith had a lower per-year base salary, but had built in raises each year. Coach Odom’s contract has a base salary of $800,000 per year with no raises built in. Coach Smith’s original buyout clause was 75% of the remaining contract for both Utah State and the coach if either were to terminate for convenience. Coach Odom’s buyout clause is more favorable to the coach with a smaller buyout amount that reduces even further after the first two seasons. The final two differences that I noticed were slight modifications to bonus amounts. The amount for winning a regular season championship was reduced from $25K to $15K. The amount for winning a First Four NCAA Tournament game was increased from $10K to $20K.

Final Thoughts:

With the first regular season under his belt, Coach Odom showed that he can pull off some big victories (beat Oklahoma to win the Myrtle Beach Invitational early in the year), and could compete with everyone. However, he couldn’t push the team over the hump in several key games this year that were lost by one or two possessions. A few made baskets here or there throughout the season and the Aggies would be a lock for an at-large bid. But as it stands, we are on the outside looking in hoping for a second-rate invitation for any kind of postseason tournament. Odom will likely lose some key pieces this year (Horvath, and likely Bean, Miller, and Eytle Rock), and will need to bring in some key pieces to compete for a championship in the Mountain West. What were your thoughts on Coach Odom’s first year as an Aggie coach? Let us know in the comments below.

Click the image below to download the official contract discussed in this article.