Will UConn's Dan Hurley have to shell $1,875,000 to join the Lakers? Huskies HC’s real buyout figure explained

The UConn Huskies could be in need of a new head coach.

On Thursday, NBA insider Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN dropped a bombshell that UConn head coach Dan Hurley is the front-runner to become the next head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers.

Hurley signed a six-year deal worth $32.1 million in 2023 after winning his first national championship, which made him one of the highest-paid coaches in college basketball.

In his contract, Hurley has a $7.5 million buyout if he left for another college team. However, if Hurley does take the job with the Los Angeles Lakers his buyout would only be $1.875 million.

Had Hurley left for the NBA last season, he would have paid $2.5 million, while the buyout drops each year. But, the $1.875 million is much less than the $7.5 million he would pay if he were to go to a different college.

Hurley has been the coach of the Huskies since 2018 and has led the program to back-to-back national championships while having a 141-58 record as the coach of UConn.

Dan Hurley says current contract with UConn is 'complicated'

Despite Dan Hurley having just signed a contract extension last year, he was already negotiating a new deal due to the interest from the Los Angeles Lakers.

On Wednesday, following the UConn Coaches Road Show, Hurley met with the media and said his contract is quite complicated right now.

"It's probably taken more time than any of us would have liked, but it's not something that's ever been a rush for me," Hurley said, via CT Insider. "When you've won back-to-back championships, you're not calling your agent worried about the status of your contract. You're more worried about recruiting, scheduling."

"It's complicated," he added. "There's a business side of it, which you allow your agent to advise you on. I'm not a business man. I'm not good at that. I'm a one-trick pony."

Hurley has said he wants to retire from coaching around the age of 60, which is nine years from now.

"You sacrifice a lot to do this job. It's a high-pressure job, it beats your ass pretty good, it's a total commitment. A lot suffers because of it: your family, any type of a social life. It basically consumes everything that you have. There's a price you pay for it."

He has coached at all levels but the NBA, but that could soon be changed if the Lakers deal does happen.