The North Carolina Tar Heels have already made Michael Malone one of the most well-compensated head coaches in men’s college basketball.
On3’s Greg Barnes reported Tuesday that North Carolina and Malone finalized a six-year, $50M deal, which will make him the second-highest-paid coach in the country behind two-time national champion Bill Self (Kansas Jayhawks), who’s on a lifetime deal that pays him $8.8M annually. The former Denver Nuggets coach is set to make $7.5M during the 2026-27 season.
Amazingly, that’s a pay cut for Malone, who reportedly made $12M with the Nuggets during his final season with the team (2024-25). The salary may not be the same, but the expectations are: win championships.
Michael Malone’s reported salary raises expectations for North Carolina tenure
Malone’s résumé should inspire confidence among North Carolina fans. He went 471-327 in the regular season in 10 seasons with the Nuggets and helped win their only championship during the 2022-23 season.
“Michael has proven he knows how to build strong, successful teams that can consistently compete in the postseason and win championships — and he knows how to make everyone on the floor better,” North Carolina athletic director Bubba Cunningham said in a statement, per ESPN. “He understands how to build rosters and coach NBA players — which is exactly what our Tar Heels want to be. We are excited to welcome Michael and his family to Chapel Hill.”
Former pro coaches jumping to college, however, doesn’t always work out. North Carolina should know after former New England Patriots HC Bill Belichick, a six-time Super Bowl champion, went 4-8 in his first season in Chapel Hill in 2025.
Larry Brown is the only coach to have won a college and an NBA championship. He did so with Kansas during the 1987-88 season and with the Detroit Pistons during the 2003-04 season.
College basketball, though, was much simpler when Brown cut the nets at Kansas. He didn’t have to worry about the transfer portal or NIL (name, image and likeness) deals.
Even as Malone is learning to navigate those, North Carolina won’t consider that an alibi if it struggles. Hubert Davis, the coach he’s replacing, went 125-54 in five seasons and led the Tar Heels to one Final Four. The blue blood still didn’t think that was enough.
Malone may face even more pressure than Davis, especially now that he’s North Carolina’s $50M man.