Brad Brownell, The Winningest Coach in Clemson History, Reaches Contract Extension

Jan. 18, 2025; Pittsburgh, PA; Coach Brad Brownell and AD Graham Neff exits the court after a Clemson win at Pitt. (Photo By Charles Mays/Tiger View Media)

Clemson has officially approved a new six-year, 27.5 million dollar contract for their head basketball coach, Brad Brownell. The deal goes until 2031 and raises Brownell’s salary to $4 million in 2025-26 and $5 million by 2029-30. Last season, Brownell’s salary of $3.5 million ranked 37th nationally among Division I Men’s Basketball coaches; this new contract will have the Indiana native inside the top 25 nationally. Brownell has now received two contract extensions in as many seasons after reaching the NCAA tournament in back-to-back seasons.

There is an interesting caveat in Brownell’s new deal: the provision of his employee buyout section gives Brownell the ability to step down as Head Coach before the end of his extension and become a “Special Assistant/Advisor to the Athletic Director.” This position would assist Clemson University and IPTAY with fundraising and revenue-generating opportunities while also being an assistant to the Athletic Director.

Brad Brownell has been very successful in his last few seasons with the Tigers, leading the program to their most season wins (27), ACC wins (18), and ACC road wins (9) in a single season in the 2024-25 season. Brownell is also the winningest coach in Clemson basketball history, sporting a 292-196 record. Under Brownell’s tenure, Clemson has only made the NCAA tournament five times in 15 years but has an Elite Eight and two Sweet Sixteen appearances during that span.

With many question marks surrounding this Clemson basketball roster heading into the 2025-26 season, Brad Brownell and his coaching staff will not be one of them. Clemson has always shown trust in Brownell when it comes to leading this basketball roster, even during his six-year tournament drought from 2012 to 2017. That trust has now paid off, as Brownell led the Tigers to back-to-back tournament appearances for the first time in his tenure and becomes a top 25 coach in college basketball, based on salary, with this new six-year extension.