What’s Mark Stoops’ web value and wage?
Mark Stoops is an American school soccer coach who has a web value of $30 million. Mark Stoops spent greater than a decade shaping Kentucky soccer into one of the secure, revered applications within the SEC, reworking a perennial underdog right into a constant bowl crew constructed on self-discipline, participant growth, and defensive toughness. A longtime defensive assistant who emerged from certainly one of school soccer’s most distinguished teaching households, Stoops took over the Wildcats in 2013 and spent 13 seasons constructing this system in a methodical, regular vogue. After inheriting a roster with depth points and restricted expectations, he progressively produced a sequence of breakthrough years, together with a number of top-20 finishes, a historic 10-win season in 2018, and one other double-digit season in 2021 that was later vacated. Stoops grew to become the winningest coach in Kentucky historical past, surpassing Bear Bryant, and oversaw 9 straight bowl appearances from 2016 by 2023. His remaining years had been affected by roster churn within the new NIL period, however his tenure basically modified the notion of Kentucky soccer and established him as one of many longest-serving coaches within the SEC earlier than his dismissal in 2025.
Early Life
Mark Thomas Stoops was born in Youngstown, Ohio, right into a household that virtually lived on a soccer area. His brothers Bob, Mike, and Ron all grew to become Division I coaches, making the Stoops title synonymous with defensive soccer. Mark performed security on the College of Iowa underneath Hayden Fry and transitioned instantly into teaching following his enjoying profession. He held early roles at South Florida, Wyoming, Houston, and Miami, steadily constructing a fame as a pointy defensive thoughts and a robust recruiter. His nationwide profile rose considerably when he served as defensive coordinator at Arizona and later Florida State, the place he helped assemble one of many prime defenses within the nation and contributed to the groundwork of FSU’s 2013 nationwide championship run.
Teaching Profession
Kentucky employed Stoops as head coach in late 2012, giving him the chance to rebuild a program that had struggled for many years within the SEC. The primary few years had been troublesome, however Stoops progressively shifted the crew’s identification towards a bodily, defense-first method supported by sturdy participant growth. The breakthrough got here in 2018 when Kentucky reached 10 wins for the primary time since 1977 and produced a number of standout NFL prospects, together with first-round draft choose Josh Allen.
From 2016 to 2023, the Wildcats reached a bowl sport each season, an unprecedented run in program historical past. Stoops developed a fame for turning three-star recruits into draftable gamers, sending a number of prospects to the NFL yearly and serving to Kentucky produce 4 first-round picks throughout his tenure. The crew once more reached double-digit wins in 2021, although that season was later vacated.
Modifications within the school soccer panorama, together with aggressive NIL competitors and revenue-sharing changes, reshaped the subsequent part of Stoops’s tenure. Kentucky remained formidable however uneven in 2024 and 2025, ending 4-8 and 5-7 throughout these two seasons. The 2025 marketing campaign included a vibrant midseason run led by freshman quarterback Cutter Boley, however a late collapse and a 41-0 loss to Louisville sealed this system’s second straight dropping yr. Kentucky dismissed Stoops on November 30, 2025, ending a 13-year run that made him the longest-tenured and winningest coach within the faculty’s historical past.
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Contracts, Salaries & Profession Earnings
Mark Stoops’s monetary trajectory at Kentucky mirrored each his longevity and his impression on this system. By 2025, he was incomes $9 million per yr, inserting him among the many higher-paid coaches within the SEC and rewarding a tenure that delivered historic consistency and nationwide relevance.
Stoops was signed by June 2031 on the time of his dismissal, that means Kentucky owed him 75% of the wage remaining on his contract underneath his buyout phrases. That obligation totaled roughly $37.7 million, inserting his payout among the many 5 largest buyouts in school soccer historical past. The one bigger buyouts recorded that season had been these of Brian Kelly ($54 million), James Franklin ($49 million, later lowered after he joined Virginia Tech), and Jonathan Smith ($33 million).
Earlier extensions additionally pushed Stoops into elite wage territory. As Kentucky improved underneath his management, the varsity repeatedly renegotiated his deal, including retention will increase tied to bowl appearances, educational benchmarks, and on-field achievements. The construction of his long-term offers ensured regular raises, escalating annual salaries, and beneficiant ensures, reflecting each his stability and the varsity’s want to retain him amid periodic curiosity from different applications.
Throughout his 13-season tenure, Stoops earned nicely over $50 million in wage alone, not together with incentives, retention bonuses, and contractual escalators tied to crew efficiency. The buyout added a further $37.7 million to that complete, that means he earned almost $90 million.
Legacy at Kentucky
Whereas the ultimate two seasons had been troublesome, Stoops’s impression on Kentucky soccer was unmistakable. He delivered the longest interval of sustained success this system had seen, elevated its recruiting profile, and produced NFL expertise at a price as soon as unimaginable in Lexington. He proved that Kentucky may compete bodily with prime SEC applications and demonstrated that stability, growth, and persistence may change a program’s trajectory. His tenure reset expectations for what Kentucky soccer may very well be and laid the inspiration for the subsequent chapter of this system’s evolution.
All web worths are calculated utilizing information drawn from public sources. When offered, we additionally incorporate non-public suggestions and suggestions obtained from the celebrities or their representatives. Whereas we work diligently to make sure that our numbers are as correct as potential, except in any other case indicated they’re solely estimates. We welcome all corrections and suggestions utilizing the button under.