Sources - John Calipari finalizing 5-year deal with Arkansas - ESPN

John Calipari is finalizing a five-year deal to become the next men's basketball coach at Arkansas, sources told ESPN on Sunday night, a blockbuster move that will shake up the SEC and college basketball landscape.

Calipari's contract is expected to have an overall base salary of slightly less than the $8.5 million he's making at Kentucky, sources told ESPN. However, the deal is expected to be incentive-laden with the ability to pass that number.

The contract is expected to be completed in the next 24 hours.

The key relationship to help the deal come together was Calipari's long-standing ties to John H. Tyson, a billionaire who is a longtime Arkansas benefactor.

Calipari is set to replace Eric Musselman, who left for USC last week. After his departure, Arkansas athletic director Hunter Yurachek pursued Ole Miss' Chris Beard and Kansas State's Jerome Tang, although both coaches returned to their respective schools. Arkansas is believed to have offered Beard in the neighborhood of $5 million per year, sources said.

Calipari has been under more pressure at Kentucky than at any other time during his tenure, as the Wildcats haven't been out of the first weekend of the NCAA tournament since 2019 and suffered upset losses to 15-seed Saint Peter's and 14-seed Oakland in recent years.

Following the first-round defeat to Oakland, there was enough speculation about Calipari's job status that athletic director Mitch Barnhart released a statement confirming Calipari would return as the Wildcats' head coach next season.

• 15 seasons as head coach
• 410-123 W-L (.769); 4th-most wins & 4th-best record of any D-I team in last 15 seaons
• 4 Final Four appearances; won 2012 national title
• 6 SEC regular-season titles & 6 SEC tournament