Florida basketball head coach Todd Golden had a nice pay day a couple of weeks ago as he signed a six-year contract extension with the Gators. Golden has been the head coach at Florida for three seasons now, and in year three, he led the Gators to a national championship. Because of that, he got the extension that is worth over $40 million, and it also leaves the door open for an NBA exit.

The language in Todd Golden's new Florida basketball contract is interesting. If Golden leaves the program to take a job with another college basketball team, there is a hefty buyout that ranges from $11 million to $16 million. The number is much smaller if Golden leaves for the NBA, however.

“Todd Golden’s NBA buyout is only $3 million in 2025-26, $2 million for from 2026-27 and 2027-28, and $1 million in 2028-29,” a report from On3 states.

As you can see, that is very different from the buyout numbers if Golden were to accept a different college coaching job. If he wants to leave for the NBA, it wouldn't be a big challenge.

“I think it’s more of just kind of keeping that opportunity potentially available down the road,” Golden said of the buyout numbers. “That’s not necessarily something that I’m thinking about right now a whole lot. But, you know, these contracts, it’s like real-life stuff, right? So you gotta make sure that you give yourself a little bit of opportunity that way.”

It wouldn't be surprising at all to see Todd Golden make a move to the NBA. He is only 39 right now, so he is one of the youngest coaches in the game, and he has already won a national championship. It didn't take him long at all to turn things around in Gainesville, and that is something that NBA teams are absolutely taking note of.

Right now, Golden obviously has something great going for him at Florida, and he is now one of the highest-paid coaches in the sports after winning the national championship. However, a lot of coaches have the ultimate goal of coaching in the NBA one day. Golden is a young coach who has a lot of time to turn that into a reality, but he said it himself, he wants to have that opportunity available in case he does choose that path in the next six years.

Florida basketball fans need to enjoy Todd Golden as they have one of the best coaches in college basketball. You never know when a outstanding coach like him will decide that it is time to go pro.