"Looked at my male counterpart": When $12 million worth Dawn Staley advocated "fighting that fight" for her $22.4 million contract extension

Dawn Staley has always been about proving that women deserve equitable compensation for their work if they have the success to back it up. In 2021, Staley renegotiated her contract with South Carolina, signing a 7-year, $22.4 million deal, making her one of the highest-paid women's coaches in basketball.

Speaking with Maggie McGrath of ForbesWomen in Aug. 2024, Staley explained the rationale behind her pushing for the lucrative contract extension.

She noted that anytime anyone experiences prolonged success in their field, they deserve fair raises:

"I probably looked at my male counterpart at the time and saw that his raises were much more than my raises, and his success didn't match our success," Staley said (6:48 onwards). "So I thought it was a great opportunity for me to just speak on that and to talk about that, especially when you got to strike when the iron's hot."

Staley, whose net worth is $12 million per CelebrityNetWorth, asserted that successful women should not be afraid to advocate for themselves and negotiate the salaries they deserve:

"I hope that me going to ask and fighting that fight not only benefits women’s basketball coaches but I hope every woman who is an executive or doing the same type of job as their male counterparts, with the same type of success, gets to benefit from it," she added.

In January, Staley signed yet another contract extension — this time, an approximate $25.25 million deal through 2030. Under the terms of the deal, her salary starts at $4 million per year, with a $250,000 annual raise.

As a result, she surpasses Geno Auriemma and Kim Mulkey to become the highest-paid coach in women’s basketball.

Dawn Staley highlights Senior Day but stresses importance of winning game

The No. 6 South Carolina Gamecocks (26-3, 14-1 SEC) will take on the No. 15 Kentucky Wildcats on Sunday, as Dawn Staley looks to lead her team to victory in their final game of the season.

The win would not only help the Gamecocks finish the season atop the league standings but but also serve as a celebration to honor their senior players:

"We're going to be celebrating our seniors obviously, but it always seems like it's a game in which we’ve got to win," Dawn Staley said Friday during the pregame media session. They've been probably the most successful class in the history of our program, and that's saying a whole lot."

Four seniors will be honored before tipoff, including Te-Hina Paopao, Sania Feagin, Bree Hall and Sakima Walker. They have been instrumental in helping South Carolina win two NCAA championships in 2022 and 2024.