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Dan Hurley turned down the chance to coach the Lakers in order to stay at UConn, and while he’s gotten a sizeable pay raise after inking a new deal with the Huskies, he still left tens of millions of dollars on the table by deciding to stay in Stoors.
It was widely assumed that J.J. Redick was the top candidate to replace Darvin Ham as the head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers until we were treated to a very unexpected twist at the start of June after learning the franchise had set its sights on UConn Huskies skipper Dan Hurley.
It was a fairly surprising development but one that made plenty of sense when you consider Hurley capped off his fourth season with the Huskies by leading them to their second consecutive national championship.
It was widely assumed he was planning to stick around to try to pull off the threepeat, but it was hard to blame him for entertaining an offer for one of the most prestigious coaching jobs in the NBA.
When everything was said and done, Hurley opted to turn down the Lakers and stick with UConn, and on Monday, the school announced he’s agreed to a new contract that will pay him a minimum of $50 million over the course of the next six seasons (his base salary is “only” $400,000, but he’ll receive more than $6 million a year for “speaking, consulting and media obligations”).
That’s a major upgrade for the 51-year-old who’d agreed to a deal worth $32.1 million over the same span in the summer of 2023, but it’s still a pretty far cry from the $70 million the Lakers reportedly offered him to take his talents to Los Angeles.
Hurley may have missed out on $20 million as a result, but it’s pretty clear he’s content with a UConn job that doesn’t subject him to the same pressures he’d likely encounter in Los Angeles (which would have also been a pretty big change of scenery for someone who’s spent virtually his entire life living on the East Coast).
Hurley will also be able to make up some of the difference if he takes full advantage of the free wings and hot dogs he can capitalize on for the rest of his life by sticking with UConn, so something tells me he’s going to be just fine.