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A month after leading UCLA to a national championship, Cori Close received a contract extension.
The new deal runs through the 2029–30 season and includes a salary bump that makes her one of women’s basketball’s highest-paid coaches, according to multiple reports. But the contract, obtained by Front Office Sports, also details payment terms if Close chooses to leave UCLA for the WNBA.
Section 14 of Close’s contract, “Termination By Coach,” states that she must pay liquidated damages to UCLA if she decides to leave before the end of the deal. The amount ranges from $500,000 to $2 million, depending on the timing of the possible contract termination.
However, if Close decides to leave for a WNBA head coaching position, she, or the WNBA franchise that hires her, will only need to pay a quarter of the damages. The contract says:
“University acknowledges and agrees that Coach, or a WNBA Club on Coach’s behalf, shall owe twenty five percent (25%) of the applicable Coach Liquidated Damages in the event Coach terminates her employment to accept a head coaching position in the WNBA.”
The amount that she or a WNBA team will have to pay would depend on the year she would leave UCLA. Each year ends on March 31 of the corresponding NCAA women’s basketball season. (Ex. Year 1 ends on March 31, 2027.)
- Year 1: $500,000
- Year 2: $437,500
- Year 3: $250,000
- Year 4: $125,000
It’s not clear why the terms were included in the contract and whether Close has explored any WNBA head coaching opportunities. UCLA and representatives for Close did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley, the highest-paid coach in women’s basketball, has a similar clause in her contract. Though Staley’s contract applies for head and assistant coach positions in the WNBA and NBA—and she would not be required to pay any damages.
Staley’s contract says: “If Coach terminates the Agreement in order to immediately accept employment as a Head Coach or Assistant Coach in the National Basketball Association (“NBA”) or the Women’s National Basketball Association (“WNBA”), she shall not be obligated to pay USC liquidated damages.”
Close will receive a base salary of $300,000 every season plus a talent fee amounting to $1.45 million in Year 1 and $1.55 million in each corresponding year. That puts her salary before bonuses and incentives at $1.75 million for the 2026–27 season and $1.85 million for each of the following seasons.
Some of Close’s bonuses and incentives include:
- $737,500 signing bonus
- $135,000 total for winning national championship, with bonuses per tournament round
- $25,000 for regular season conference championship
- $25,000 for conference tournament championship
Staley’s deal is worth about $4.25 million annually until 2030. The other top-paid coaches in women’s basketball are UConn’s Geno Auriemma ($3.7 million), Kim Mulkey ($3.35 million), and Texas’ Vic Schaefer ($2.3 million).
Close has been the UCLA women’s basketball head coach since 2011. A week after winning the national title, six Bruins were selected in the 2026 WNBA draft, including five in the first round, a WNBA record.
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