Mike Krzyzewski's Duke Contract Paid Career-High $12.5M in 2021 Season

Legendary head coach Mike Krzyzewski didn't give Duke a hometown discount as his career began winding down.

Sportico's Daniel Libit reported Coach K collected $12.5 million across the 2020-21 season, describing it as "an amount that rivals the most ever paid by a university to a college head coach during a non-buyout year."

The total compensation for Krzyzewski would've made him the highest-paid coach in men's college basketball last season. Kansas' Bill Self would be second at $10.2 million.

That figure also exceeds the $9.8 million Nick Saban earned from Alabama last year and the $10 million Lincoln Riley will reportedly receive annually from USC.

Libit reported Krzyzewski was paid around $5.3 million in salary and incentives and that the majority of his paycheck ($7.2 million) came from deferred compensation.

It's unclear how much the 75-year-old received in 2021-22, his final season on the sideline. Per Libit, Duke will disclose his salary as part of its 2022 fiscal year tax returns, which won't be public until next summer.

Krzyzewski announced last June he was retiring after the 2021-22 season, setting up a farewell tour throughout the campaign. The Blue Devils nearly wrote him a storybook ending as they reached the Final Four, but they lost to their biggest rivals, North Carolina.

As part of Coach K's retirement announcement, Duke confirmed Jon Scheyer, a former Blue Devils player who joined the coaching staff after his playing career ended, would succeed him as head coach.

It stands to reason Scheyer won't be matching his predecessor's salary.