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Both Gerry McNamara and Jon Scheyer won national championships as players, and on Thursday afternoon, the two former guards will meet on the sidelines for a high-stakes clash in the first round of the 2026 NCAA Tournament.
McNamara, a legendary figure from Syracuse's 2003 title team, has revitalized the Siena Saints in his first season as head coach. After leading them to a MAAC Tournament championship, he has the Saints back in the Big Dance for the first time in 16 years. However, the task of finding Siena’s first tournament win since 2009 is daunting, as they face the No. 1 overall seed: the Duke Blue Devils.
Scheyer, a key piece of Duke’s 2010 championship squad, is now carving his own legacy in Durham. In his fourth year succeeding Mike Krzyzewski, Scheyer has the Blue Devils playing as the tournament favorites, seeking the program's first national title since 2015.
The Duke-Siena matchup is a quintessential David vs. Goliath story, highlighting the vast divide between a blue-blood powerhouse and a mid-major striver. This disparity is perhaps most visible in the coaches' compensation. McNamara makes something similar to his mid-major colleagues, and in contrast, Scheyer recently signed a massive contract extension through 2031, with estimates placing his total compensation among the highest paid coaches in the sport.
Gerry McNamara salary
While Siena does not publicly disclose exact figures, mid-major coaches in the MAAC typically earn between $300,000 and $500,000 annually.
Most successful MAAC coaches earn in the mid-six-figure range. For example, former MAAC coach Rick Pitino (at Iona) was an outlier at over $1 million, but the standard for a first-time head coach like McNamara usually starts closer to $400k. Given his high profile as a Syracuse legend, he likely sits at the top of that conference scale.
When McNamara was hired in March 2024 to replace Carmen Maciariello, industry experts estimated his annual total compensation to be between $400,000 and $600,000.
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Jon Scheyer salary
Scheyer's salary is 15 to 20 times more than McNamara annually. In fact, Scheyer’s monthly paycheck is nearly equal to McNamara’s entire yearly salary.
Scheyer’s salary is one of the highest in college basketball, reflecting his rapid success in succeeding Mike Krzyzewski. While Duke is a private university and does not officially publish exact contract figures, industry reports and financial disclosures provide a clear picture of his compensation.
In early October 2025, Scheyer signed a massive contract extension through the 2030–31 season. Under this new deal, his total annual compensation is estimated to be between $7 million and $8 million.
Scheyer’s pay jump is one of the most significant in recent coaching history. In his first two seasons (2022–2024), he was earning approximately $2.4 million annually — a relatively modest"sum for a blue-blood program. However, after winning two ACC Tournament titles and reaching the 2025 Final Four, Duke moved aggressively to lock him in with a lifetime caliber contract.
This puts him in the elite tier of coaching salaries, trailing only legends like Bill Self ($8.8M) and John Calipari ($8M).
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Who is the lowest paid Division 1 college basketball coach?
Many small or private schools in Division I don't disclose their coach salaries, so there's no clear answer. But, the lowest-paid head coaches in NCAA Division I are typically found at small public universities or historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) within Low-Major conferences like the MEAC, SWAC, or Big Sky.
These were the lowest documented coaching salaries this season.
| Coach | School | Conference | Estimated Salary |
| Stan Waterman | Delaware State | MEAC | $170,000 |
| David Duft | Weber State | Big Sky | $182,000 |
| Steve Smiley | Northern Colorado | Big Sky | $185,000 |
| Erik Martin | South Carolina State | MEAC | $210,000 |
| Johnny Jones | Texas Southern | SWAC | $250,000 |
IN-DEPTH REGION BREAKDOWNS: East | West | Midwest | South
Who is the highest-paid college basketball coach?
Kansas' Bill Self is the highest-paid coach in college basketball, earning approximately $8.8 million per year.
Following a major contract restructuring in late 2023, Self signed a "lifetime" rolling five-year agreement that made him the clear leader in coaching compensation. For the current 2025–26 season, his total package is worth approximately $9.6 million, though with retention bonuses and performance incentives, his actual take-home pay often exceeds $10 million annually.
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