Georgia Tech is working with basketball coach Josh Pastner on a contract extension, a person familiar with the situation confirmed to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Thursday.
In the convention of college coaching, Pastner would seem to have earned additional security after leading the Yellow Jackets to their first ACC championship since 1993 and their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2010. Pastner has two years remaining on his existing agreement.
The extension talks were first reported by the Athletic earlier Thursday.
An extension would be Pastner’s first since he received an extra year on his original six-year contract in June 2017 after leading Tech to the NIT finals and being named ACC coach of the year in his first season, when the Jackets were picked to finish 14th.
Pastner is earning $2 million this academic year and is scheduled to make $2.2 million next year and $2.4 million in 2022-23.
Pastner repeatedly has offered his gratitude to athletic director Todd Stansbury and institute leadership for their faith and loyalty to him during multiple trials encountered during Pastner’s first five seasons, even saying that he would take a bullet for Stansbury.
Stansbury’s trust was rewarded this season, when Pastner took the Jackets to the NCAA Tournament in his fifth season, making good on the timeline and vision that he had frequently pitched as Tech tried to push its way out of the bottom of the ACC standings.
That bond could influence the course of negotiations, particularly as Pastner’s name has been raised as a possibility for the job opening at Arizona, Pastner’s alma mater.
Pastner certainly is aware that Tech’s pockets aren’t deep. The impact of COVID-19 upon revenues has been such that the athletic department staff, including Pastner, is under a furlough program to reduce expenses.
But if Pastner’s representation is looking for a comparison that might help negotiations, the $2.5 million that Clemson coach Brad Brownell receives annually on average and the $3.2 million paid each year to Georgia’s Tom Crean could be starting points.
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