When $12 million worth Dawn Staley justified her $22.4 million contract at South Carolina: “You’re getting a marketing campaign free of charge”

Dawn Staley created history in 2021 when she signed the seven-year, $22.4 million contract extension with the South Carolina Gamecocks. The extension made her the highest-paid women's basketball coach in the Southeastern Conference and the highest-paid Black head coach in women’s basketball.

On the "Jemele Hill is Unbothered" podcast in 2022, Staley, worth $12 million (per CelebrityNetWorth), shared the process behind the historic contract. The video of the episode was posted in January 2024 on YouTube.

Dawn Staley began with the March Madness incident in 2021 when Sedona Prince posted a video of the disparity in men's and women's NCAA Tournament amenities. While she spoke out about it on social media, Staley also began to look at her situation in South Carolina.

A bit of research showed that she was earning much less than her male counterpart coaching the men's Gamecocks team, which had only been to one Final Four. Using this, she approached her renegotiation through her lawyer, Butch Bowers, and not her agent.

Dawn Staley, who has won three national titles at USC (2017, 2022 and 2024), then spoke about how the lesser resources put into women's sports are often justified by saying they are a non-revenue producing sport. She, however, strongly disagrees.

"No, we're not," Staley said (Timestamp: 11:49). "We have the highest attendance in the country. We have national attendance records for the past nine years in a row. Somebody is paying for those tickets; the concession stand is open. … That's revenue-producing.

"And, we’re winning national championships, so you're getting a marketing campaign free of charge off of our sweat equity of winning national championships, so there's revenue coming in."

Since 2021, women's college basketball has continued to grow and has broken multiple viewership and attendance records. The NCAA championship game between South Carolina and Iowa in April was the most-watched women's college basketball game averaging 18.7 million viewers on ABC and ESPN.

The Gamecocks won the title with an undefeated season run and are now attempting to defend it.

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Dawn Staley's South Carolina extends its winning streak

After losing to UCLA in December, South Carolina is on an 11-game winning streak. On Sunday, the Gamecocks took the biggest victory since the Bruins, defeating No. 5 Texas 67-50.

Dawn Staley's team has bounced back and is looking to finish this season with another incredible run. They will next travel to Tuscaloosa on Thursday to play against No. 19 Alabama.