Florida extends Todd Golden: Gators coach inks six-year, $40.5 million contract through 2031

Basketball

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Image Credit: Maddie Washburn, UAA

Fresh off leading the Florida Gators to their first national championship in 18 years, head coach Todd Golden’s tenure has been extended with the richest contract in program history. Golden has signed a six-year, $40.5 million contract that will keep him with the team through the 2030-31 season, Florida announced Tuesday.

Golden, 39, will average $6.75 million per season in his updated contract making him the fourth-highest paid coach in the nation based on total pay, according to a USA Today database compiled last season. He will trail only fellow national title winners Bill Self (Kansas), John Calipari (Arkansas) and Dan Hurley (UConn) being paid ahead of Tom Izzo (Michigan State).

Golden’s roster construction and coaching brought the Gators their third national title in program history and first since 2007. He became the youngest coach since Jim Valvano (age 37, 1983) to hoist the trophy and brought Florida to the final game of the season in his third year with the program, one year earlier than legendary coach Billy Donovan had the Gators challenging for the national championship.

“My family and I are grateful to be a part of Gator Nation and for the opportunity to lead this great program three years ago,” Golden said in a statement. “As we’ve shown during our time in Gainesville, the University of Florida is an institution that has the resources, support, and people in place to compete and win national championships. I am so appreciative of each and every player and staff member who have been critical to the success we’ve experienced here. My family and I look forward to our future here at UF and to the continued success of our men’s basketball program.”

Florida in 2025 finished just shy of claiming the SEC regular-season crown but won a historic SEC Tournament, its first such victory in 11 years, while defeating three ranked opponents. The Gators then entered the NCAA Tournament as a No. 1 seed and battled through the toughest seed-line schedule in event history while also being forced to overcome the two-time defending national champions.

Golden led Florida to its first wins — ever — against No. 1-ranked teams in the regular season with the Gators accomplishing the feat both on the road and at home. UF’s nine wins against top 25 opponents across the 2024-25 campaign, as part of a 36-4 overall record, stand the most in program history, totaling more ranked wins this one season than in Golden’s first two years leading Florida combined.

“Todd has done an incredible job getting Florida men’s basketball back where it belongs,” athletic director Scott Stricklin said. “We believed in his vision, his competitive nature and his modern approach to the game back in 2022, and he has validated that belief in a relatively short time and helped create memories of a lifetime for another generation of Gator fans.”

Golden will be tasked with a significant overhaul of the Gators this offseason. His three star transfer guards — Walter Clayton Jr., Will Richard, Alijah Martin — have exhausted their eligibility, while sophomore forward Alex Condon and junior center Rueben Chinyelu are exploring their NBA prospects. Condon and Chinyelu may wind up returning to Florida, but both remain in flux at this time. Junior G Denzel Aberdeen also left the program through the transfer portal.

To this point, the most notable players set to start for the Gators in 2025-26 are sophomore F Thomas Haugh and a pair of incoming transfers in four-star point guard Xaivian Lee (Princeton) and four-star guard AJ Brown (Ohio). Should Condon and Chinyelu return, that group would comprise the program’s starting five.