So, the other day I was just kicking back, thinking about college basketball, you know, the Iowa Hawkeyes and all that. Coach Fran McCaffery came to mind, and I started wondering, how much does a guy like that actually make? It’s not something they usually flash on the screen during games.

I decided to do a little digging. It wasn’t like some secret mission, just opened up my laptop and started searching. Typed in stuff like “Fran McCaffery salary” and “Iowa basketball coach contract”. Pretty basic stuff.
What I Found Out
Took a bit of clicking around, reading through some sports news articles and bits that looked like they came from university info. It wasn’t as straightforward as just one number.
Here’s the gist of what I pieced together:
- For the 2024-25 season, his total deal with the university is around $3.4 million. That’s the big number.
- But, they made a point about his “base salary”. That part is actually $2,050,000.
- So, where does the rest come from? Well, seems like there’s an additional $900,000 he gets for other duties.
What kind of duties? Stuff like:
- Public speaking gigs
- Fundraising for the program
- Running basketball camps
It makes sense, I guess. These coaches do a lot more than just coach the games. They’re like the face of the program in many ways.

It got me thinking about coach salaries in general. I saw some notes mentioning that the top football coaches, like Kirby Smart at Georgia, are pulling in absolutely massive amounts, like over $13 million a year on average. Crazy money. But then you also see other Division I basketball coaches, maybe at smaller programs, listed with salaries around $250,000 or $275,000. It’s a huge range across the board.
So yeah, that was my little journey into figuring out Fran McCaffery’s salary. It’s not just a simple paycheck; there are different parts to it. Interesting stuff to uncover when you just get a little curious.