Rick Pitino say he’s overpaid in WFAN interview: ‘My agent’s gonna kill me’

Rick Pitino is one of the more media savvy head coaches in college basketball, although his agent probably doesn’t agree right now.

Pitino recently joined Brandon Tierney and Sal Licata on WFAN and even though he’s on the heels of leading St. John’s to their first regular season Big East title in 40 years, the head coach had the gall to claim he’s overpaid. The claim came after Tierney asked the 72-year-old if there is any chance of him leaving St. John’s University to coach anywhere else.

After admitting that he previously said he didn’t want to leave Iona or Kentucky at various points in his career, Pitino attempted to provide more context around his answer this time.

“Why would I leave?” Pitino asked. “Where am I going to go that I would want to leave? This is New York City, the greatest city in the world. This is a program that is in the top 10. I’m overpaid right now. They should take some money away from me. I don’t need anything.

“My agent’s gonna kill me for saying that because he keeps saying ‘You’re not in the top five of Big East coaches.’ He’s gonna kill me now.”

But this season is proof that the reported $3.3 million per year St. John’s is paying Pitino, likely with help from billionaire alum Mike Repole, is not an overpay. St. John’s has their best record since the 1985-86 season and just clinched their first outright Big East title in 40 years. This from a program that hasn’t won an NCAA tournament game in a quarter-century.

And considering the drastic turnaround, it doesn’t seem crazy to think that another school might be willing to pay Pitino more now that he’s successfully rehabilitated his career enough to continue warranting bigger offers from bigger schools.

Rick Pitino is very calculated with what he says to the media. Maybe claiming he’s overpaid is just an attempt at getting everyone to buy in on the idea of him finishing his career with St. John’s. But Pitino should also feel confident that he’ll still hold the leverage when it’s time to negotiate a new contract.