Nate Oats signs extension to put him in top 5 highest paid coaches in college basketball
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Nate Oats continues to take the Alabama men’s basketball program to new heights.
After a fourth consecutive Sweet 16 appearance, Alabama is positioned as one of the premier college programs in the country and the athletic department is making sure to show its appreciation for Oats.
In a social media announcement Sunday, Alabama Director of Athletics Greg Byrne said Oats has signed a new contract.
“Nate Oats has signed a new contract that will make him one of the top five compensated men’s basketball coaches in the country. Appropriate members of the Board of Trustees have been notified of the proposed terms of the new agreement and it will soon be formally approved through the board process.”
Greg Byrne
According to Sporting News, Oats had a base salary of $5.51 million in 2025-26 which made him the ninth highest paid coach in the country. That contract, which was set to conclude in March 2030, was expected to raise Oats’ base salary to more than $7 million by the final year.
The new contract extends Oats two more seasons, running through the 2031-32 season, according to ESPN.
The financial details are expected to be released after it’s officially approved by the Board of Trustees but to reach a top 5 salary in 2025-26, Oats would’ve needed to have a base salary of at least $6.2 million.
Alabama basketball under Nate Oats
Since arriving in Tuscaloosa in 2019, Oats has led the Crimson Tide to seven straight winning seasons but that doesn’t even begin to tell the story of the team’s success.
During the Oats era, Alabama has:
- 170-73 overall record
- 88-38 SEC record
- 6 NCAA Tournament appearances
- 5 Sweet 16 appearances
- 2 Elite 8 appearances
- Final 4 appearance
- 2 SEC regular season championships
- 2 SEC Tournament championships
- 6 NBA Draft Picks
Alabama has reached the top 10 of the Associated Press rankings in each of the last six seasons, the longest stretch in program history.
