Dusty May Says Unsigned Michigan Deal Is Just a ‘Formality’

Three weeks after Michigan won the national championship, head coach Dusty May’s new contract remains unsigned. 

May told Front Office Sports on Wednesday that his new deal won’t be signed until the summer despite Michigan athletic director Warde Manuel saying he and his coach had agreed to a new deal at the Wolverines’ title celebration on April 8.

“We’ve agreed to the broad terms,” May told FOS. “I think I signed—we announced at the Michigan State game last year and I‘m signing it in July just because there’s i’s to dot and t’s to cross. To me it’s a formality. When I told him I wasn’t even going to entertain another college job— in my mind, that was essentially signing a contract, and we would get the details worked out based on both parties feeling great about the deal.”

May is going on his third contract in as many seasons with the Wolverines. His second contract, which was signed in February 2025, paid him $4.6 million this season before bonuses and was set to increase to $4.85 million next season had he not agreed to a new deal. Under the old deal, his buyout to leave for another job was $7.5 million. 

May’s name is on the radar of NBA teams. There are currently only two openings with the Pelicans and Bulls; the Bucks recently hired former Grizzlies coach Taylor Jenkins to replace Doc Rivers. The 49-year-old May has never coached outside of college, and unlike Florida coach Todd Golden, his buyout is not lower if he leaves for an NBA job. 

Holding up the coaching carousel right now is the Magic, who are up 3–1 on the top-seeded Pistons as of Wednesday in the biggest upset of the first round so far. 

Orlando coach Jamahl Mosley was on the hot seat going into the playoffs, but it’s hard to say for certain that a series win would save his job. This is the NBA, where the Knicks fired Tom Thibodeau a year ago despite taking the team to its first conference finals in roughly a quarter century. 

Former Bulls coach Billy Donovan is reportedly interested in the Magic should the job come open. Donovan won a pair of national championships at Florida while May led Florida Atlantic to the 2023 Final Four. 

“I mean obviously we all think about that as younger coaches,” May said of coaching in the NBA. “But no it’s not something…our full attention has been on building this roster and plans of hopefully competing for a championship again next year.”