How long is Michael Malone’s contract with North Carolina basketball?...

The North Carolina basketball coaching search was a loud one, and it came to a close with a shocker on Monday afternoon. The Tar Heels went through a number of options before settling on Michael Malone as the successor to Hubert Davis. Malone was not on just about anyone’s radar as a candidate for the North Carolina job, so it came as a massive surprise when he was hired. Now, the official details of his contract have been revealed. The NBA champion head coach got a six-year deal with the Tar Heels worth $50 million, per Brian Murphy of WRAL News. At the beginning of the search, it looked like North Carolina was targeting either Arizona’s Tommy Lloyd or Michigan’s Dusty May to come be the next coach in Chapel Hill. However, Lloyd pulled out of the search on Friday before his Final Four game with Arizona, and May withdrew after beating Lloyd’s Wildcats in the national semifinal. May then took home a national championship on Monday night. Malone doesn’t have the college coaching experience that some North Carolina fans would have liked to see in this hire, but the Tar Heels are clearly confident in his ability to recruit and build a roster. If UNC can get the proper talent in the room, Malone’s credentials as a coach speak for themselves, most notably winning the NBA Finals with the Denver Nuggets in 2023. However, if Malone’s teams do not perform, it will be interesting to see how long his leash is. Davis was fired after the 2025-26 season despite reaching the national title game back in 2022. In 2024, North Carolina was a No. 1 seed before losing to Alabama in the Sweet 16. This contract certainly suggests North Carolina is confident that Malone can turn things around quickly in Chapel Hill. A promising season in 2025-26 was derailed by an injury to Caleb Wilson, which has everyone in Carolina Blue hungry for a return to prominence under Malone in 2027.