John Calipari says Arkansas players outearn assistant coaches as he defends Protect College Sports Act

Calipari has been one of the most outspoken college coaches about the Protect College Sports Act

Oct 1, 2026 at 6:29 pm ET • 2 min read

The Protect College Sports Act, which was passed by the U.S. Senate earlier this week by a 77-22 vote, has been one of the hottest topics in college athletics over the last several months. Many prominent college coaches, including Arkansas' John Calipari, have been outspoken about the bipartisan bill that would write the NCAA's rules into federal law.

When asked about the PCSA this week, Calipari went on an unfiltered rant to a group of local reporters and admitted that nine of his players make more than his assistant coaches at Arkansas, while the other three on his roster make more than his entire staff.

"Right now, we need something to give us some semblance of order and some guardrails," Calipari said. "And there will be people against it who think there should be unions; they should be unionized. Agents should have a free hand to do what they want. They talk about, well, what about coaches? I'm gonna say this, I probably shouldn't: Nine of my players make more than my assistants. And the other three make more than all my staff. And we are not one of the highest payers; we're just not."

If the PCSA is passed by the House of Representatives, it would set a limit on how much a student-athlete can make. An amendment to the bill was proposed by U.S. Senators Cory Booker (D-N.J.) and Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) that would've put a $5 million salary cap on some college football coaches. However, the amendment ultimately failed.

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Calipari, who is entering his third season at Arkansas after a 15-year run at Kentucky, is one of the highest-paid coaches in all of college athletics with a salary north of $7.75 million, according to USA Today's salary database. Calipari's salary this season ranks behind only Kansas' Bill Self ($8.8 million) and UConn's Dan Hurley ($8.02 million) for the highest-paid in college basketball.

After admitting that his roster earns more than his assistant coaches, Calipari continued his rant about the PCSA by defending coaches' salaries across the board, citing his nearly four decades of coaching experience.

"Then you could say, what about (me)," Calipari said. "I've been doing it 40 years. Started as a volunteer, two years as a part-time assistant. And I've kinda done OK at different programs. So yeah, they're paying me. How about this: all the coaches on (Arkansas') campus in every sport make less than the rev share. ... Players are getting more than the coaches. I just don't understand who could be against it."

Calipari's roster at Arkansas, which includes projected top-three pick Jordan Smith Jr. and potential first-round pick Billy Richmond III, is arguably his deepest since he left Kentucky for another SEC job in 2024. The Razorbacks' 2026 recruiting class finished No. 2 in the 247Sports team rankings, only behind Duke.