John Calipari has revised his coaching contract stipulations to effectively take out any bonuses for him and his coaching staff, while also raising the base salary pay. The deal was negotiated last season between Calipari and the Kentucky Wildcats team.

Coaches are a valuable commodity in the realm of sports. A winning coach even more so. If they have enough accolades under their belts and lead their teams to enough victories, they could stand to earn a lot of money.

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After all, everyone loves a winner.

Case in point: South Carolina Gamecocks Coach Dawn Stanley. If the women's basketball team loses in the national semifinals and the men's team goes undefeated towards a national championship, he could earn five times as much as Calipari and all his assistants make combined.

Times have changed, as a year ago it would have been Calipari positioned to earn a lot of money in the form of bonuses.

However, a renegotiation has led US $800,000 of the $850,000 bonuses Calipari and company used to receive annually are to be eliminated.

Instead, Calipari's contract was reconfigured to be the highest paying contract in college sports history. His assistants' contracts were similarly elevated accordingly.

The only incentive left for them is an annual National College Athletics Association (NCAA) Academic Progress Rate figure for the team of at least 950. The current NCAA benchmark is 930 and the best mark possible is 1,000.

The rating is ideal for the coaches as it allows the coaches to keep their attention on their players' academic performances.

Kentucky deputy athletics director DeWayne Peevy said that the real reason Calipari took away the bonuses though was that he did not feel right getting paid for the achievements that the players themselves have earned.

Calipari's current agreement ups his base pay from $5.2 million to $5.9 million. The pay is also poised to increase for the subsequent seasons.

If Calipari were to complete the terms covered in the pay increases, he stands to earn at least $52 million. 

TagsJohn Calipari, Kentucky WIldcats, Bonuses