Gophers men’s basketball coach Niko Medved is getting a contract bump before he even finishes his second year on the job.
Medved is set to receive a one-year extension, pending Board of Regents approval this week, that pushes his deal through the 2031-32 season. The new agreement also adds $200,000 to his salary, bringing it to $3.2 million.
That figure is split between $400,000 in base salary and $2.8 million in supplemental compensation. Under the old setup, Medved’s pay was scheduled to rise by $100,000 each year through annual escalators.
Even with the raise, Medved’s total compensation still ranks 17th among 18 Big Ten men’s basketball coaches.
The extension comes earlier than the timeline laid out in Medved’s original March 2025 contract. At that point, the university and Medved agreed to “engage in a good faith review of the contract terms and provisions” after Year 2 to “determine if any enhancements should be made.”
Instead, Gophers Athletics Director Mark Coyle and Medved made those “enhancements” a year ahead of schedule.
Medved’s first Gophers team finished 15-18 overall and 8-12 in Big Ten play. Injuries took a heavy toll, but the team stayed in the fight and wrapped up its season at the College Basketball Crown tournament in Las Vegas.
The revised deal also spells out the buyout structure if Medved leaves for another head coaching job. The fee is $10 million during the upcoming season, then drops to $7 million in Year 3, $5 million in Year 4, $3 million in Year 5, $500,000 in Year 7 and zero in Year 7.
If Minnesota fires Medved without cause through Year 4, the termination fee equals the total compensation he would have earned over the full contract. If the university moves on after Year 4, it must pay 75% of the remaining total compensation he would have collected through the end of the deal.
Medved is currently slated to earn $20.7 million over the rest of the contract.
The updated bonus structure includes NCAA tournament milestones: $50,000 for reaching the round of 64, $75,000 for the round of 32, $100,000 for the Sweet Sixteen, $150,000 for the Elite Eight, $200,000 for the Final Four, $300,000 for NCAA runner-up and $500,000 for NCAA champion. Those bonuses are not cumulative.
There are also Big Ten bonuses of $50,000 each for three separate achievements: finishing with a winning conference record in the regular season, winning the regular-season title and winning the Big Ten tournament. Those bonuses can be stacked.
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