5 Things: Significance of Kansas State locking up Chris Klieman long-term
1.) News broke on Sunday evening, per ESPN’s Pete Thamel, that Kansas State was in the process of finalizing a long-term contract extension with head coach Chris Klieman. The believed length of the new deal is eight years and worth $44 million. That is an average salary of $5.5 million per year, although it will begin lower than that and escalate throughout the duration of the contract. It makes the K-State head coach the third-highest paid head coach in the Big 12 (excluding Baylor) and the second-highest in the new Big 12 (excluding Baylor and BYU). Klieman’s new compensation pits him roughly at about the same amount as Steve Sarkisian at Texas and signals a huge financial commitment from Kansas State.
2.) Not lost on anyone is that it also signifies the level of commitment from Klieman in K-State. He’s one of the best coaches in the country and could even command more pay elsewhere. In fact, he’s turned down other overtures while at Kansas State. The most recent one came from Nebraska before they inked Matt Rhule. Though he will be paid handsomely, his willingness to stay aboard in Manhattan rather than having many negotiate for his work shows an intent to remain atop the ascending program that he is the mastermind behind.
3.) Typically, a recruiting surge is associated with a contract extension of this magnitude for a head coach. The timing wouldn’t align very well, as May is not usually a time where a lot of commitments are received by anyone. It is in the middle of an evaluation period, just after Spring visits and waiting one more month can allow one to make official visits. However, Klieman signing on for seemingly the rest of his career could be just the spark and reassurance that a prospect or two may need, so stay tuned to see if it has immediate results for K-State.
4.) He has won big at North Dakota State. He has now taken Kansas State where only one other man has, too. Though he’s just cracked the top 25 in pay structure, Klieman is really a top 10 coach and the Wildcats have him long-term. His championship pedigree and the elite culture he has created makes it possible for him to win multiple Big 12 titles at K-State just like Bill Snyder.
5.) KSO has also learned that Kansas State is in the midst of also securing the future of head coach Jerome Tang as well. The two sides are also in contract negotiations. With Klieman’s deal being finalized and his assistants already signed as well (including offensive coordinator Collin Klein), K-State is poised to run it back in football and can set its sights on doing the same for Tang and the basketball program.
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