What's Tim Tadlock's salary? Contract status for Texas Tech baseball coaches
Short of walking away with the Big 12 Tournament championship, the Texas Tech baseball team will likely conclude its season this week in Arlington.
The Red Raiders, who took on Texas in the first round of the conference tournament on Tuesday night, enter the postseason 31-24 overall after going 12-18 in Big 12 play. They lost 11 of their final 13 games of the regular season and lost all five of their three-game road series in conference play.
Ahead of an offseason that could see several changes for the program, here's a look at the contract status for the Texas Tech baseball coaches, including Tim Tadlock, the three assistants and two other top staffers.
Texas Tech baseball coach Tim Tadlock's contract status, salary
Tim Tadlock signed a seven-year, rolling deal with Texas Tech back in June 2021 worth $8.925 million. Language in the contract states that Tadlock "will remain in the top 5 of collegiate head baseball coaches' guaranteed salary" with these numbers coming under review every two years.
The longtime Red Raider coach was awarded the deal to keep him in Lubbock after Texas A&M reached out to Kirby Hocutt to inform the Tech director of athletics the Aggies were interested in pursuing Tadlock for their coaching vacancy in the spring of 2021.
This also came on the heels of Chris Beard leaving Texas Tech to head up the basketball program at rival Texas.
The deal — which was set to net Tadlock at least $8.925 million over the life of the contract — was initially agreed to May 2021 just before the Red Raiders boarded the bus to head to the Big 12 Tournament and finalized a month later.
Terms of the contract include an additional year being added to the life of the deal every year on Sept. 1, unless written notice is provided by either party prior to an Aug. 15 deadline.
Both sides of the deal — Tadlock and Tech athletics — are also slated to revisit the deal every two years to gauge market value, the latest review coming last September and the next being September 2025.
The initial contract, obtained by the Avalanche-Journal through an open records request, had Tadlock making $1.2 million in 2021-22, the first year of the deal. In March 2022, Hocutt sent Tadlock a letter stating his Rights Fees and Outside Athletics Related Income (the bulk of a coach's payments) was increased to $950,000 the first year and $975,000 the second — his base salary is $300,000 every year.
Those marks moved Tadlock's salary to $1.25 million in 2021-22 and $1.275 in 2022-23, an increase of $50,000 for each year. Another review of Tadlock's salary in comparison to other baseball coaches was scheduled for last September.
Adjusted salaries beyond the 2022-23 season were not available in records obtained by the A-J. They also don't show whether the contract had been extended beyond the initial seven-year agreement, which was set to end Aug. 31, 2028. Tadlock is currently scheduled to make $1.35 million for the 2027-28 contract year.
According to a list compiled by Aria Gerson at The Tennessean, Tadlock's $1.275 million salary for the 2022-23 season would've tied him as the seventh-highest paid coach in the Southeastern Conference. His 2021-22 salary would've been tied for third in the SEC.
Entering the Big 12 Tournament, Tadlock has a career record of 451-241 in his 12 years with Texas Tech.
Texas Tech baseball assistant coaches salaries
Texas Tech has three full-time assistant coaches in Matt Gardner, Joe Hughes and Jason "J-Bob" Thomas. Those three, along with special assistant to the coach Ray Hayward and director of sports operations Eric Gutierrez, are all at-will employees, therefore working without full contracts.
Thomas, who serves as the recruiting coordinator, works with Tech's catchers and serves as the team's third base coach, has a salary of $369,100 for the 2023-24 year. He is in his 12th season with the Red Raiders.
Gardner, in his seventh year as an assistant, works with the Red Raiders' pitchers. His salary is $235,532. He first served as a volunteer coach for four years before being promoted to assistant coach in 2017.
Hughes, who has been with Tech since 2012, is making $157,000 this year. Hayward's salary is $144,581 and Gutierrez's is $59,000.
This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Contract status for Tim Tadlock, other Texas Tech baseball coaches
