Buzz Williams contract buyout: What does Maryland basketball likely owe Texas A&M?

USA Today

01-04-2025

Buzz Williams contract buyout: What does Maryland basketball likely owe Texas A&M?
Show Caption
Hide Caption
Duke, Florida, Auburn, Houston punch their ticket to the Final Four
The madness continues as Mackenzie Salmon previews the Men's Final Four matchups, which will feature all No. 1 seeds for the first time since 2008.
Sports Seriously
Over the course of his coaching career, Buzz Williams has compiled a transient résumé, often staying at a program for five or six years before heading elsewhere.
In 2014, one year after leading Marquette to an Elite Eight, Williams left the Golden Eagles for what was then an ACC cellar-dweller in Virginia Tech. Five years later, and after taking the Hokies to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 1967, he accepted the same position at Texas A&M.
Now, he's on the move again.
Williams has been hired as the head coach at Maryland, the university announced Tuesday. He replaces Kevin Willard, who left after the Terrapins' run to the Sweet 16 in the 2025 NCAA Tournament to be Villanova's coach.
College Park is buzzing!
Maryland welcomes Buzz Williams as its new Head Coach.
Full release: https://t.co/rFMcr74GSW pic.twitter.com/6heoIalX6G — Maryland Men's Basketball (@TerrapinHoops) April 1, 2025
REQUIRED READING: Final Four reseed: Power rankings of the teams left in March Madness
The 52-year-old Williams has been a proven winner for much of his career, with a 359-211 record and 11 NCAA Tournament appearances since the start of the 2008-09 season. Most recently, he made the NCAA Tournament in each of the past three seasons at Texas A&M, including with a team during the 2024-25 season that earned a No. 4 seed before falling to Michigan in the second round.
The transaction comes with a price tag, though. Prying a sitting head coach from a power-conference program usually comes with the additional cost of a buyout, with Williams' move from the Aggies being no exception.
Here's a look at what Maryland owes Texas A&M for hiring Williams:
Buzz Williams pay
Salary: $4.7 million
According to information from USA TODAY's men's coaching salary database, Williams boasted a total pay of $4.7 million for the 2025 season. With that figure, Williams was the 17th highest-paid coach in the country, based on USA TODAY Sports' research of the Power Four plus any non-Power Fours that have qualified for three of the past five NCAA Tournaments. And he was the seventh-highest in the SEC.
According to a copy of his contract, obtained by the USA TODAY Sports, he was due a raise of $100,000 on Tuesday, which would have boosted his salary to $4.8 million.
Buzz Williams contract buyout
As part of the terms of Williams' contract with Texas A&M, as long as the school exercised contract extension options on or before March 31 of 2024 and 2025, the Aggies are owed $1 million from the coach for leaving before the end of his deal.
So Maryland probably saved a bit of money, given the timing of the move. Williams' buyout probably was cut in half, dropping from $2 million to $1 million, on Tuesday. The Terrapins are set to receive $2 million in buyout money from Willard.
REQUIRED READING: This Final Four isn't the 2008 March Madness party of No. 1 seeds. Here's why
Buzz Williams career record
Here's a look at Williams' record as a college head coach: