Mick Cronin quietly signed UCLA extension in May; buyout structure should lock him in through 2030

Last season saw UCLA coach Mick Cronin at his crankiest (and, I'd argue, funniest). He had a number of postgame rants that went viral amid a just-OK 23-win run that ended in the second round of the NCAAs with Cronin capping the season by crapping on the NCAA's flight arrangements. As Cronin's continued to speak his mind the past two years, there's been steady gossip in college hoops circles that he might have a wandering eye for other jobs. Well, if he did, that's now almost certainly off the table.

In mid-May, Cronin signed a two-year contract extension with UCLA that increased his salary, buyout and severance terms. 

CBS Sports recently obtained the new contract, which when unreported until just this week, when the LA Times first got word out. Unlike in 2022, when Cronin renegotiated, UCLA never announced the updated deal. This isn't typical at a public university with a high-profile program, though UNC was sluggish to announce Hubert Davis' contract extension last season after it was signed in December of 2024.

Cronin, 54, is now paid $4.5 million annually -- but that's before factoring in a plethora of bonuses that will easily bump his income well above $5 million per year with the easy-to-achieve incentives in his contract. For example, if Cronin is still UCLA's coach as of April 15, 2026, he'll be paid an additional $500,000 ... just by holding on to the job. That perk will increase to another $600,000 come April 15, 2027, and then $700,000 the subsequent two years so long as he's still fit to coach in the Westwood sunshine. 

Cronin had $10 million guaranteed coming to him on the previous contract (if he'd been fired), but by working a new deal, he more than doubled his payout in the revised paperwork. If the two sides sever in the next five years, here's the amended money structure.

If fired without cause, UCLA would have to pay Cronin ...

• Before April 1, 2026: $22.5 million
• Before April 1, 2027: $18 million
• Before April 1, 2028: $13.5 million
• Before April 1, 2029: $9 million
• Before April 1, 2030: $4.5 million

If Cronin takes another job, here are his updated buyout terms ...

• Before April 1, 2026: $15 million
• Before April 1, 2027: $12 million
• Before April 1, 2028: $8 million
• Before April 1, 2029: $6 million
• Before April 1, 2030: $4 million

The conditions almost certainly lock up the two sides through the end of the decade. Cronin is 145-67 at UCLA in this his eighth season. He's taken the school to the NCAAs four times, including the 2021 Final Four run in the COVID bubble tourney. The 7-3 Bruins are unranked and face Arizona State on Wednesday night. 

This story was included in Matt Norlander's Court Report, an insider notebook with scoops, stats and behind-the-scenes stories around college basketball. You can read much more this week, including Nebraska's red-hot start, right here.