Bill Self’s new lifetime contract with Kansas includes surprising clause

The Kansas basketball program is one of the teams involved in the ongoing federal investigation into corruption within college basketball, but head coach Bill Self is not going to lose his job over it. How do we know that? It’s literally written into his contract.

Kansas announced on Friday that Self has signed a lifetime contract with the program. The new deal is a rolling five-year agreement that automatically adds one year at the conclusion of each season. Lifetime deals are rare, but that isn’t even the most surprising part of the agreement.

Self’s new contract contains language that states he cannot be fired as a result of any infractions that occurred prior to the agreement being signed. That would obviously include the ongoing federal investigation, which began in 2017. If Self is suspended, however, he has agreed to give up half of his salary.

If Self is suspended by the NCAA and/or the Big 12 for any matter related to the current infractions case, he has agreed to forfeit 50% of his salary during that time, per his contract. (2/2)

— Matt Galloway (@themattgalloway) April 2, 2021

The scope of the federal investigation is massive, and we have already seen some pretty serious allegations against certain programs. It has also been ongoing for years, so Kansas may feel confident in what has or hasn’t been uncovered about the Jayhawks.

Given what Kansas recently went through with football coach Les Miles, it is even more surprising that they would give Self such major protection in his new deal. The agreement obviously shows how highly school administrators think of the eight-time Big 12 champion.