{Lexington, Kentucky}...Friday, University of Kentucky basketball coach John Calipari and his three assistants who got new, lucrative contracts. Calipari received an 8.3 percent increase in his guaranteed annual compensation over the final seven years of his current agreement, making his amended deal worth a total of $36.5 million before performance incentives, which breaks down to $5.2 million over the next six years and $5.3 million in 2018-19. Assistant coaches Orlando Antigua, Kenny Payne and John Robic each got new contracts. Not counting incentives, Antigua got a two-year deal worth $525,000, Robic got a two-year deal worth $575,000 and Payne got a three-year contract worth $1.05 million. According to a March story by Forbes, Calipari’s new guaranteed compensation, which increased by $400,000 annually and does not include up to $850,000 in potential bonuses each season, would make him the fourth-highest paid coach in the NBA. Calipari, who has a 102-14 record with the Cats and hasn’t lost a home game in his three seasons in Lexington, says he has the best job in basketball and wants to finish his career at Kentucky. He has said he’d like to chase UCLA’s record 11 NCAA titles.
