Dawn Staley and South Carolina have agreed to a new, seven-year contract that will pay her $2.9 million this season and grow to $3.5 million in the final season. The school’s Board of Trustees approved the deal worth $22.4 million on Friday to keep the national championship coach with the Gamecocks through the 2027-28 season. The school said in a statement the new deal makes Staley the highest-paid Black coach in women’s basketball and one of the highest-paid coaches in the sport.

Staley’s salary is the highest in the Southeastern Conference, surpassing newly hired LSU coach Kim Mulkey, who will make $2.5 million in her first year with the Tigers. Staley was set to make $2.1 million this season under her old contract. She’ll receive a base salary of $1 million a year over the life of the deal with her guaranteed outside compensation starting at $1.9 million this season and growing by $100,000 each subsequent year. Staley can also earn up to $680,000 in incentive bonuses. The school would owe Staley $3 million if it terminated her without cause this season, an amount that falls to $250,000 by the end of the deal. Staley would pay the university $5 million if she left on her own this season. That amount falls to $2 million by the contract’s end on April 15, 2028.