St. John's offers Rick Pitino restructured contract, sources say
St. John's head coach Rick Pitino on the sidelines against the Georgetown Hoyas at Madison Square Garden on March 3, 2026. Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
St. John's has offered Rick Pitino a restructured contract that could be finalized in the coming days, according to two sources close to the situation.
The restructured deal would make him the second-highest paid coach in the Big East, according to one of the sources.
Pitino signed a six-year deal with St. John's after leaving Iona College following the 2022-23 season. The contract reportedly paid him between $3 million to $3.5 million per year. That figure now puts him in the middle of the pack among Big East coaches.
The new contract offer restructures the three remaining years on his initial deal, but increases his salary to make him the second-highest paid coach in the conference behind Connecticut’s Dan Hurley, a source said.
After Hurley took the Huskies to a second straight national championship in 2024, he signed a contract extension six years in length for a total of $50 million.
It also may leave the door open for Pitino, 73, to coach longer than three more seasons at St. John’s. One of the sources described the offer as the school wanting “to make sure that he finishes his career” at St. John’s.
Pitino’s record in three seasons at the helm of the 13th-ranked Red Storm is 76-24, and the program has taken a quantum leap on both the national and local scenes. They played 12 regular-season games and an exhibition game at the Garden this season and the number of season-ticket holders has grown to approximately 10,000.
The Red Storm (25-6) have won the outright Big East regular-season title in consecutive years for the first time in program history and this week is seeking a second straight conference tournament title, beginning with its Thursday noon quarterfinal against Providence. It will be in its second consecutive NCAA Tournament for the first time in 26 seasons.
Last season St. John’s went 31-5, got to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2019 and earned its first Big Dance win since 2000.
When the school broke ground on a new $60 million practice facility for the men’s and women’s basketball programs, university president Rev. Brian J. Shanley was asked about potentially restructuring or extending Pitino’s contract and replied, “At the time that we hired Rick, I thought we gave him a generous and fair package based on his success. I know the price is going to go up and I think we’re going to be able to get the resources to get where we need to go . . . I don’t want to lose Rick, because I think he’s the best coach in college basketball.”
The landscape of coaching salaries has changed significantly since Pitino originally signed with St. John’s.
Villanova hired Kevin Willard before this season and he is reportedly receiving approximately $5 million annually. Pitino’s son, Richard Pitino, was hired by Xavier before this season and reportedly is earning more than $4 million annually. Both of them spent time as assistant coaches on Rick Pitino's staff.
Bill Self of Kansas is the highest paid coach in college basketball, making $8.8 million a year, according to USA Today.
Both sources said the restructured contract seeks to give Pitino “the appropriate amount of respect” in the coaching community.
When the school broke ground on the practice facility, Shanley said, “The key piece in getting to the point where we are today was re-establishing the basketball program and particularly the men’s basketball program, and the key to all this was hiring Rick Pitino.”
Roger Rubin returned to Newsday in 2018 to write about high schools, colleges and baseball following 20 years at the Daily News. A Baseball Hall of Fame voter since 2011, he has covered 13 MLB postseasons and 14 NCAA Final Fours.
