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Jim Tanner has added to the chaos at Carolina.
After UNC stunned Tar Heel Nation by announcing Bubba Cunningham’s move to the chancellor’s office and naming Steve Newmark as the new AD in 2026, Tanner’s contract as the basketball program’s executive director and GM was released late Friday.
That is one way of burying a controversial story at the start of a busy weekend.
Tanner has been in his position for almost a year and signed a contract in July, but he has yet to be introduced to the Carolina alumni and fan base and media with a press conference.
After seeing what Tanner will make with few credentials for being a talent evaluator, his hiring becomes even more curious.
The 1990 UNC grad sold his talent agency before accepting the position with Hubert Davis’ program, and he will make more than a million dollars a year for a yet-to-be-announced job description.
Agents are generally more negotiators than talent scouts, and in his contract release Tanner does not have a defined role. He has never played college basketball or coached but has negotiated many deals for pro players.
It is unclear how involved he was in the recruiting and signing of the nine new players joining the Carolina roster for the 2025-26 season. Tanner has hired as an assistant former Tar Heel Buzz Peterson, who was an unsuccessful college coach before joining the front office of the NBA’s Charlotte Hornets. More assistants may follow while the Carolina coaching staff will still be responsible for scouting and evaluating prospects from high school, the transfer portal and overseas.
Tanner does not work out of the basketball suite, and his office in the athletic department building adjacent to the Dean Dome beckons the question: Who does Tanner report to, Davis or the athletic director?
He signed a five-year contract that can be revisited after three years. Davis’ deal was extended through the 2030 season, but the coming campaign looms large in his longevity as head coach.
Tanner’s compensation package rivals those of athletic directors who are bonused for the accomplishments of their teams even though they have nothing or little to do with how they perform.
Tanner’s beginning base salary was $850,000 per year and he received another $100,000 in salary for Carolina making the 2025 NCAA Tournament or the Tar Heels adding one 4-star or 5-star signee during that recruiting period. UNC makes the Big Dance about every year and signs a 4-star or 5-star almost every season.
His bonus structure seems almost absurd. Beyond making another $100,000 in salary each year for those reasons, Tanner earns a two-month bonus of about $160,000 each if the team receives an NCAA bid, reaches the Sweet 16, the Final Four and wins the national championship.
So that is a total of another $640,000 in bonuses added to the very likely $100,000 salary bump. It means he can pocket more than $1.5 million if the Heels win it all.
Now when will Jim Tanner tell us exactly what he does?
Featured image via Jim Tanner
Art Chansky is a veteran journalist who has written ten books, including best-sellers “Game Changers,” “Blue Bloods,” and “The Dean’s List.” He has contributed to WCHL for decades, having made his first appearance as a student in 1971. His “Sports Notebook” commentary airs daily on the 97.9 The Hill WCHL and his “Art’s Angle” opinion column runs weekly on Chapelboro.Chapelboro.com does not charge subscription fees, and you can directly support our efforts in local journalism here. Want more of what you see on Chapelboro? Let us bring free local news and community information to you by signing up for our newsletter.
