Details of Patrick Ewing's Georgetown Contract
Hilltop Hoops recently learned details of Patrick Ewing's contract as Georgetown head coach. Here's what you need to know.
When Patrick Ewing was hired to be Georgetown’s next head coach, details of his contract were unclear at the time. At the time, ESPN reported that Georgetown gave Ewing “a rare six-year contract to restore its basketball glory,” but this information has never been confirmed by the university or athletic department.
Recently, Ron Bailey of HoyaReport.com reported that he heard that Ewing had a four-year deal.
So which is it?
Hilltop Hoops has recently obtained details of Ewing’s contract. Here is what you need to know.
Term: 6 seasons, ending April 4, 2023
Salary: Annual base salary of $2.6 million. The base salary increases by $200,000 for the 2018-19 season, and $200,000 annually thereafter until the 2022-23 season for a total guaranteed base salary of $18.6 million.
Athletic Performance Bonuses:
Regular Season: Win 18+ games - $50,000
Postseason: Big East Championship - $100,000
NCAA Tournament Bonuses (escalating payments per advancement, i.e. cumulative):
Appearance in the 2nd Round - $100,000
Advance to the 3rd Round - $100,000
Advance to the 4th Round - $100,000
Advance to the 5th Round - $100,000
Advance to the 6th Round - $100,000
Advances to the NCAA Championship Game - $500,000
Wins NCAA National Championship - $750,000
Another quirky feature of Ewing’s contract? While Coach Ewing receives complimentary season tickets for his personal use for men’s basketball (4) and women’s basketball (4), he also receives four season tickets for…Georgetown baseball!
When reached for comment, a spokesperson for Georgetown University athletics only said, “The University does not comment on employment matters.”
So why does this matter? Well, if Ewing had indeed signed a four-year deal, that would mean he would be up for an extension after this season. There would be a decision to be made for both sides about pursuing an extension.
Knowing that Ewing is under contract for at least two more seasons is also helpful for recruiting, showing potential recruits that Ewing is around for the long haul.
It also serves as a rebuttal to those wackjobs calling for Ewing to be fired. Even if Ewing was on the hot seat - which he’s not - Georgetown is not about to eat that much money to terminate the contract of the best player in its program’s history, especially with how COVID-19 has financially decimated the school’s budget.
If Ewing’s salary increases by $200,000 per year, that would put his salary for this season at $3.2 million. According to this table from USA Today of NCAA basketball coaches’ salaries, that would put Ewing at 23rd in the nation in base salary, tied with Georgia’s Tom Crean, and ahead of coaches such as Mark Few (Gonzaga), Mark Turgeon (Maryland), Brad Underwood (Illinois), and Jim Boeheim (Syracuse).
Out of the five Big East coaches who are listed in this table, Ewing has the second-highest salary, behind Villanova’s Jay Wright.
These details also provide some further clarity, perhaps, on the infamous Jeff Goodman report that Georgetown offered Chris Mack $4 million to be its next head coach.
Considering Mack’s track record at the time, and the fact that Georgetown is paying Ewing an average of $3.1 million across six seasons, that report isn’t as outlandish as some might have thought when it was reported.
So there you have it! Six years and $18.6 million total for Patrick Ewing as Georgetown head coach. The big man is here for the long haul. Here’s to hoping he can catch a few Georgetown baseball games next year, too!