Per an X post from longtime college basketball reporter Seth Davis via investigative reporter Brian Murphy, North Carolina paid fired head coach Hubert Davis a $5 million buyout and would owe Arizona a $9 million buyout to hire Tommy Lloyd as his replacement.
Lloyd signed a new contract with Arizona in April 2025. The buyout from Lloyd dropped from $11 million in year one of the contract to $9 million in year two, beginning on April 1. Lloyd's base salary is  $4.4 million, plus $700,000 for additional duties, which totals approximately $5.1 million.
Per USA Today, Davis had a six-year contract through June 30, 2030, with a base salary of $5.3 million and supplemental compensation that had $11.7 million remaining on his contract. According to a separate USA Today report, Lloyd was the ninth-highest-paid coach in college basketball as of March 2025.
Amazingly Davis was 28th nationally in total pay in 2025. It would almost certainly take a major financial commitment and a significant increase from North Carolina to secure a high-profile head coach. Billy Donovan of the Chicago Bulls and Dusty May of Michigan have been the other primary candidates mentioned at UNC.
The idea that North Carolina can afford to pay Hubert Davis $5 million to leave and Arizona $9 million for Lloyd's buyout before they've given him a penny in salary or a dime for his roster seems very far fetched to me, to put it mildly. https://t.co/UjaHVrh1h7
— Seth Davis (@SethDavisHoops) April 2, 2026
What top head coaches earn
Bill Self earns $8,803,800 per year as the head coach of Kansas. Self is the highest-paid coach in college basketball nationally. Self announced earlier this week that he is returning as the head coach at Kansas for the 2026-27 season.
In their updated database among the top paid football coaches nationally, North Carolina pays Bill Belichick $10,100,000. There has been some speculation about how much North Carolina will spend for a basketball coach because of Belichick's salary. Like Arizona, UNC is a basketball school first.
Lloyd would have a similar trajectory at North Carolina at a program with a more proven history of success. Arizona is playing in its fifth Final Four in 2026, has one National Championship and a runner-up. North Carolina has won six National Championships, appeared in 21 Final Fours and 12 National Title Games.