Could record Kim Mulkey contract impact Dawn Staley, Kellie Harper, other SEC coaching salaries?

Yesterday's price is not today's price for SEC women's basketball coaches.

LSU coach Kim Mulkey has agreed to a new 10-year contract that will pay her $36 million, which is expected to be approved Friday by the LSU Board of Supervisors. It will make Mulkey – who led the Tigers to their first national championship last season – the highest-paid women's basketball coach in the country this season.

Mulkey's new contract is proof of a continuing trend when it comes to SEC schools paying their women's basketball coaches: Investment is the path forward.

South Carolina coach Dawn Staley was a significant catalyst in the trend, signing a historic seven-year contract worth $22.4 million in 2021. Her contract started at $2.9 million in 2021-22, and its annual increase made her the highest-paid women's basketball coach in the country in 2022-23. Her total compensation totaled $3.3 million during the 2022-23 season thanks to a $300,000 split-dollar life insurance payment that carries over from her previous contract. Staley's contract will top out at $3.5 million the final year.

Mulkey's new contract surpasses both Staley and UConn coach Geno Auriemma in total compensation this season. According to a copy of Mulkey's contract obtained by USA TODAY, she will make $36 million over its 10-year duration, including the $32 million in supplemental income.

Per contract details, Mulkey's $400,000 in base salary on top of the $2.75 million provided to her in the contract results in a total of $3.15 million for the 2023-24 season. Staley and Auriemma will each make $3.1 million this season.

Mulkey, 61, will earn $3.65 million by the last year in her deal in 2032, not including her $400,000 base salary.

The SEC includes four coaches making more than $1 million annually, including Lady Vols coach Kellie Harper and Texas A&M coach Joni Taylor.

Harper reached the $1 million mark with her contract extension in 2022. Her total annual compensation is now $1.1 million after the one-year extension she signed in May after leading Tennessee to two straight Sweet 16 appearances. Taylor, who was hired by Texas A&M prior to the 2022-23 season, made $1.45 million on her first-year contract. Georgia coach Katie Abrahamson-Henderson is just under the $1 million mark with an annual compensation of $950,000.

The five SEC coaches paid the least have an annual compensation that ranges between $500,000 and $600,000. Florida coach Kelly Rae Finley, Kentucky coach Kyra Elzy and Ole Miss coach Yolette McPhee-McCuin all make between $700,000 and $850,000 annually.

The SEC leads the way in Power Five when comes to the average compensation for women's basketball coaches. According to public universities coaches' salaries obtained by USA TODAY in 2021-22, SEC women's basketball coaches earned the highest average salary of $984,135. That increased to $1,122,956 in 2022-23. The only SEC coach not included in that figure is Vanderbilt's Shea Ralph, whose salary is not disclosed because Vanderbilt is a private institution.

Once Mulkey's new contract is finalized, that average salary will increase even more in the SEC. It's a significant step forward when it comes to paying women's basketball coaches, and it's a trend that will continue to raise salaries across the board in the years to come.

Staley and Mulkey's contracts are a statement that when women's basketball coaches win big, they're rewarded. Before their contracts, it took historic levels of success to earn contracts this significant. Legendary Lady Vols coach Pat Summitt had to win eight national titles before she became the nation's highest-paid women's basketball coach in 2011-12 at just under $2 million. Auriemma earned an estimated $3 million last season and he has won 11 national titles since 1995.

Granted, Mulkey won her fourth national title in April. But it was her first at LSU, the other three were won at Baylor. Staley has won two national titles at South Carolina since 2017 and made five appearances in the Final Four since 2015.

SEC SCHEDULE: Lady Vols basketball SEC schedule for 2023-24 season including dates for South Carolina, LSU

Mulkey's new deal also had a ripple effect on the LSU staff. Two of her assistants, Bob Starkey and Gary Redus, also received raises. Starkey agreed to a three-year contract worth $1.05 million through 2026. Redus agreed to a two-year contract worth $730,000.

While women's basketball coaches have made progress in closing the pay gap, Mulkey and Staley are the only two SEC basketball coaches to make more than their male counterparts. Every SEC men's basketball coach besides those two make at least double their university's women's coach.

Mulkey's contract was a significant step, however, and helps solidify a precedent that success will be compensated accordingly for SEC women's basketball coaches.

This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Kim Mulkey: LSU coach contract could impact Dawn Staley, Kellie Harper