New details have emerged about Shaka Smart's new contract to remain VCU basketball's head coach, and it appears he took a pay cut of sorts. Smart will sign an eight-year contract with a base salary of $1.2 million per season, less than the reported annual salary he would have received at North Carolina State, according to FOX Sports' Jeff Goodman. That figure does not include bonuses.
Smart decided to stay at VCU over bolting to North Carolina State, his athletic director confirmed earlier. N.C. State was prepared to offer him a six-year contract worth nearly $2 million a year, according to a previous report. This means that Smart took an $800,000 or so pay cut annually in exchange for two more years on his contract.
Of course, this is still a major raise on Smart's previous contract, which paid him a base salary of just $350,000 a year, so Smart is making out just fine.