(Todd Melet)

Will Roy Williams actually coach until he is 77?

Among the two-handful of contracts UNC athletics announced Wednesday, including new multi-year deals with Nike and Learfield Communications, the most compelling by far is Ol’ Roy’s extension that would have him as the Tar Heels basketball coach until one month before his 78th birthday on August 1, 2028.

Williams said back in 2012 that he plans to coach “six to eight more years” if his health remains strong. Other than facing a second knee replacement after this season ends, he looks and acts younger than his current 68 years on God’s green Earth. But coaching 10 more years? That seems like a long shot for someone who wants to spend more time with his wife and grand kids.

Like Dean Smith endured in his last decade on the bench in the 1990s, Williams will surely face questions from recruits about how long he will coach. And this extension is likely more about that than the reality of going another 10 years. Key to his contract is the sentence on the second page of the fourth amendment since he returned here as head coach in 2003: “COACH shall have the right to unilaterally terminate the agreement at any time.” This gives him the security to say he is staying indefinitely along with the option to quit at any time short of 2028. Thus, he can be unequivocal with recruits and their families about how long he will be here.

More concerning to Williams’ reputation and the heart rate of his friends who think he is grossly underpaid is the complicated compensation plan laid out in the contract. It prompted an almost immediate story on Forbes.com that claims Williams is still not among the 25 highest-paid college basketball coaches in America.

That is incorrect for two reasons. One, Forbes did not include all of Williams various revenue streams and, two, posted the story before UNC fixed its omission of the $1-plus million Roy receives from Learfield, the university’s multi-media rights partner.

When all of that is added up correctly – UNC salary, achievement bonuses he earns every season, supplemental income from the Rams Club, stipend from Nike, his summer camp and Learfield – Williams has the potential to make almost $6 million this season and more than $7 million if he does coach in 2027-28, putting him easily in the top 10 of which Mike Krzyzewski is No. 1.

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