Frank Martin coached his first season as the UMass men’s basketball coach without a fully executed contract, according to documents obtained Wednesday.

The Daily Hampshire Gazette requested Martin’s contract last April after he was hired in late March, but there were no responsive records available. The final contract was formally executed Tuesday with signatures from Martin, UMass athletic director Ryan Bamford and chancellor Kumble Subbaswamy after Martin had been on the job for more than a year.

Bamford tweeted an image of a signed agreement March 25, 2022.

A contract is fully executed once it has been signed by each of the parties to form a legally binding contractual relationship. All parties have agreed to fulfill their contractual obligations and have also agreed to all terms and conditions, according to Gatekeeper, a contract management and vendor management platform. 

Done. Deal. 🎉

Welcome back to the Commonwealth, @coachFMartin!

A great day at the #Flagship!! 🚩 pic.twitter.com/rxUGJFdJPD

— Ryan Bamford (@UMassADBamford) March 25, 2022

The contract covers five years and a week between March 25, 2022, and March 31, 2027. He has received and will receive a base salary of $1 million and four cents per year, which makes him the highest paid public employee in Massachusetts. His year one bonus totaled $500,000 paid quarterly, and he’ll receive an escalating bonus each year of the deal starting at $525,000 in year two and increasing $25,000 per year up to $600,000 in year five.

If Martin is still UMass’ coach on July 1, he’s entitled to a $100,000 retention bonus. That amount increases to $150,000 if he’s retained July 1, 2024 and will also be paid in 2025 and 26 if he’s still in Amherst.

Martin’s buyout if he resigns from his position currently stands at $1.25 million. It will drop to $1 million on April 1, 2024, $750,000 in 2025 and $500,000 in 2026.

Should UMass terminate the agreement early, it will owe Martin $3.5 million plus the remaining yearly contract value until March 31, 2024.

The buyout drops to $2.5 million next year and $1 million in 2025.

Martin will receive bonuses for high academic progress rates as well as athletic success by the Minutemen such as $12,500 for a top-four finish in the Atlantic 10 conference standings and another $12,500 for a regular season conference title. UMass will pay $20,000 for an A-10 tournament title and $25,000 for an NCAA tournament appearance. Each NCAA tournament win will be worth $10,000 each, including a $100,000 bonus for making the Final Four and another $250,000 for a national championship.

It also includes smaller bonuses for NIT appearances or runs and a bonus for finishing high up in the final NCAA NET rankings: $10,000 for 100-76, $15,000 for 51-75 and $20,000 for a top 50 final NET rating.

Martin will be in line for a $15,000 bonus if UMass’ men’s basketball home game total paid attendance exceeds $1 million.

Martin was given a $100,000 signing bonus in lieu of moving expenses to the Amherst area on or before April 15, 2022. Other bonuses included a golf membership, season tickets and family travel commonplace in UMass coaching contracts.

UMass went 15-16 last season and fell in the opening round of the A-10 tournament. Six players exited the program through the transfer portal. 

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