Cori Close led the UCLA Bruins to a NCAA championship last season. Their whole season was extremely impressive. They had an almost perfect season with 37-1 record. The Bruins were unbeaten in the Big Ten 10 with 18-0 record. A team led by 6 seniors was adamant on graduating in the grandest fashion. And they did just that.
Lauren Betts, Kiki Rice, Gabriela Jaquez, Angela Dugalic and Charlisse Leger-Walker, all left for the WNBA. They leave behind a confident team who is ready for the next era of players to be led by a committed and dedicated head coach in Cori Close.
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Cori Close started her coaching career as an assistant at UCLA and then became their head coach in 2011. She has grown the Bruins over the span of 15 years and she has no intention of leaving. However, there does seem to be a plan in place if any WNBA opportunity comes her way. Cori Close can surely coach in the WNBA capability wise, but with this new clause, it would be easier for her to leave.
Cori Close has signed a contract extension which includes a special buyout clause in case a WNBA team comes knocking. A discounted WNBA clause means that if she ends up leaving UCLA to take a job in WNBA, the buyout fee will be reduced to 25% of the standard amount.
Close or the WNBA team that might hire her, will have to pay between $125,000 and $500,000 depending upon the year of her contract, which would turn out to be 25% of her agreed upon contract salary.
Cori Close’s new contract with UCLA
Apart from a WNBA clause, Close has shown her loyalty with the contract extension despite 6 seniors leaving. She has signed a 4-year extension which would be valid through 2029-30 season.
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She will get paid around $2 million annually according to the new contract. The deal constitutes $300,000 as base salary. There is also an added talent fee of $1.45 million for the next season and increasing to $1.55 every next year. If she leaves for another team in college basketball, the buyout is pretty standard between $500,000 to $2 million depending on the year.
Read more:
After JuJu Watkins’ Comments, Cori Close Responds With Message for USC Star Ahead of Big Return
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