South Carolina women's basketball coach Dawn Staley's contract allows here to leave for WNBA, NBA jobs. Why she says she won't.

Dawn Staley became the highest-paid coach in women’s basketball when she signed a new contract with South Carolina on Friday. The extension bumped her pay from $3.2 million to $4 million this year and will see her annual compensation rise to $5.25 million at the end of the contract in 2029-2030.

Dawn Staley says a clause in her new contract means nothing about how long she’ll be at South Carolina. Following Sunday’s win over Oklahoma, Staley addressed a section of her extension that she signed to end last week.

Staley has not been publicly connected to any WNBA head coaching jobs. In NBA history, no woman has ever served as a full-time head coach. Lisa Boyer, a current USC assistant coach, was the first woman to hold any sort of coaching position in the NBA, assisting the Cleveland Cavaliers from 2001-02.

After defeating two ranked opponents last week, South Carolina women's basketball remains No. 2 in the AP Top poll and in the USA TODAY Coaches poll. The Gamecocks (18-1, 6-0 SEC) beat then No.

Not only is Dawn Staley now the highest paid coach in women’s basketball, she negotiated something else that rivals Geno Auriemma and Kim Mulkey don’t have: a free path to the pros. The University of South Carolina announced a contract extension with Staley on Friday that will keep the three-time NCAA champion in Columbia through