Within the span of 13 months, Danny Sprinkle went from the coach of Montana State University, to the new coach at Utah State University, and now the head coach of the University of Washington Huskies. Danny did an incredible job at Utah State, leading a completely newly built team to the outright Mountain West Championship and the first Utah State NCAA Tournament victory in over 20 years. He was named the Mountain West Coach of the Year and was a finalist for National Coach of the Year honors. Not surprisingly, Danny was one of the names mentioned for several head coach openings after the season ended, and he quickly became the front runner for the University of Washington job.
Danny has ties to the University of Washington. His father played football for the Huskies in the 1960’s and he grew up a Husky fan. It also didn’t hurt that the Huskies offered Danny a contract that was worth more than three times what he was making at Utah State. It is rumored that Utah State gave Danny a generous extension offer that would have made him the highest paid Utah State coach in history, but Utah State’s offer simply wasn’t able to compete with Washington’s.
USUStats has acquired Danny’s initial contract (Memorandum of Understanding) with the University of Washington that details his salary and potential bonuses. The contract is worth more than $22 Million over six years not including bonuses. It includes several incentive bonuses and states that the University of Washington will pay any buyout amount due to Utah State University as a result of Danny leaving his coaching job there. USUStats contributed fifteen cents to the cause by paying the required fee to acquire the initial contract document from Washington. See the details below:
Annual Guaranteed Salary
Year 1 – $3,200,000 Year 2 – $3,300,000 Year 3 – $3,600,000 Year 4 – $3,800,000 Year 5 – $4,000,000 Year 6 – $4,200,000
The base contract guarantees six years starting at $3.2 Million with $200,000 raises each year with the exception of year 2 which offers a $100,000 raise, followed by a $300,000 raise in year 3.
Bonuses:
APR >= 950 = $50,000 APR >= 960 = $75,000 APR >= 970 = $100,000 Conference Champion (or Co-Champion) = $100,000 Conference Tournament Champion = $100,000 Team qualifies for the NCAA Tournament = $100,000 Each win in the NCAA Tournament = $50,000 Conference Coach of the Year Award = $50,000 National Coach of the Year Award = $100,000
Buyout Details:
University of Washington will cover the cost of any payment owed to Utah State for terminating the coaching contract early.
If Coach Sprinkle leaves University of Washington for a coaching position at another college or pro team he will pay liquidated damages according to the following schedule:
During Contract Year One = $6 Million
During Contract Year Two = $5 Million
During Contract Year Three = $4 Million
During Contract Year Four = $3 Million
During Contract Year Five = $1 Million
During Contract Year Six = $0
Danny’s initial contract can be accessed or downloaded by clicking on the image below:
What do you think of Danny’s new contract? Will he succeed at Washington? Comment below.
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.
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?
