Inside the numbers of K-State’s potential $18.7 million dilemma with Jerome Tang

Kansas State basketball fans are beginning to wonder if this could be Jerome Tang’s final season with the Wildcats.

Not because he may leave for a higher-profile job, as was once feared when he led K-State to the Elite Eight in 2023 or when Arkansas pursued him in 2024, but because the Wildcats can’t stop losing as they march toward a third straight season without an appearance in the NCAA Tournament.

K-State (10-12, 1-8 Big 12) currently resides at the bottom of the conference standings. And its most recent result, a 95-61 blowout loss against Iowa State at Bramlage Coliseum, was the third-biggest home defeat in school history.

With nine games remaining in the regular season, there is still time for the Wildcats to avoid a historically bad campaign. But EMAW nation is beginning to sour on Tang. If they fail to turn things around, his future in Manhattan will remain very much in doubt.

Under Tang’s guidance, K-State won 26 games and reached the Elite Eight in his first year as head coach. But the program has been trending in the wrong direction ever since. Year 2 featured 19 wins and a trip to the NIT. K-State only won 16 games in Year 3. Things have gotten worse in Year 4.

K-State athletic director Gene Taylor may have an expensive dilemma on his hands at the end of the season.

The Wildcats rewarded Tang with a pair of contract extensions early in his tenure, which raised his current salary to $3.6 million. His buyout also ballooned to $18.7 million, which is what K-State would owe Tang should he be fired without cause before April 30 of this year.

According to a copy of Tang’s contract, K-State would be required to pay his buyout over the course of two years, beginning 30 days after the effective date of his termination. That total would be offset by any future earnings associated with a new job.

Tang’s buyout reduces annually, as shown below.

• $15.7 million on May 1, 2026
• $12.75 million on May 1, 2027
• $9.7 million on May 1, 2028
• $6.5 million on May 1, 2029
• $4.4 million on May 1, 2030

K-State has also committed nearly $1.73 million in salary to Tang’s five assistant coaches for the current season.

Those contracts are fully guaranteed, but they only last for 12 months. It appears that the Wildcats would not owe K-State assistant coaches any buyout money in the event of a head coaching change. Their employment agreements simply would not be renewed.

Here’s a breakdown of K-State assistant basketball coach salaries:

• Matthew Driscoll: $550,000
• Jareem Dowling: $550,000
• Rodney Perry: $350,000
• Bill Peterson: $150,000
• Anthony Winchester: $125,000

In the event that Tang decides to terminate his contract early, he would owe K-State an exit fee of $4 million before April 30. That number drops by $1 million per year. There is a unique clause that states his exit fee would drop by 50% in the event that Taylor is no longer employed as K-State’s AD.

But that clause doesn’t apply to the buyout figure that K-State would owe Tang in the event he is fired without cause.

An $18.7 million buyout would be uncharted territory for the Wildcats.

They paid former men’s basketball coach Bruce Weber $1 million when he stepped down in 2022. On the football side of things, they paid Bill Snyder a $3 million retirement incentive when he hung up his headset in 2018.

Can K-State afford an $18.7 million buyout for a men’s basketball coach? Good question. That’s something Taylor may need to ponder if the Wildcats continue to struggle on the court.

This story was originally published February 3, 2026 at 1:29 PM.

Kellis Robinett

The Wichita Eagle

Kellis Robinett covers Kansas State athletics for The Wichita Eagle and The Kansas City Star. A winner of more than a dozen national writing awards, he lives in Manhattan with his wife and four children.