EAST LANSING – Tom Izzo is a Spartan for life, both figuratively and literally. The men’s basketball head coach agreed to a lifetime contract on Thursday and will be paid an average of $6.2 million every season he remains as head coach. The contract will be up for formal approval by the Michigan State Board of Trustees during their meeting on Sept. 9.

“Michigan State has been a home to me and my family for 40 years and I’m ecstatic to sign this contract,” Izzo said in a statement. “This is an exciting time for Michigan State and there’s no better place to be in college athletics, with the support we have from the University, our students, our community and the tremendous Spartan alumni. I love Michigan State and I am proud and excited to continue the hard work to bring another national championship to East Lansing.”

Izzo is entering his 28th season as the head coach of Michigan State. During that time he won the National Championship in 2000, appeared in eight Final Fours, won 10 Big Ten regular season championships, six Big Ten Tournament championships and has led the Spartans to the NCAA tournament 24 straight times. On Sept. 9, 2016, Izzo was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. 

The summer of 2022 has been kind to Michigan State basketball. First, the 2023 recruiting class has added three members and has seen its ranking move all the way to No. 3 in the country. Now, Izzo has inked a very rare “lifetime” contract. Kansas head coach Bill Self and Kentucky head coach John Calipari are the only other current coaches in the country with this type of contract.