The 52-year-old Williams has been a proven winner for much of his career, with a 359-211 record and 11 NCAA Tournament appearances since the start of the 2008-09 season. Most recently, he made the NCAA Tournament in each of the past three seasons at Texas A&M, including with a team during the 2024-25 season that earned a No. 4 seed before falling to Michigan in the second round.

The transaction comes with a price tag, though. Prying a sitting head coach from a power-conference program usually comes with the additional cost of a buyout, with Williams’ move from the Aggies being no exception.

Buzz Williams pay

According to information from USA TODAY's men's coaching salary database, Williams boasted a total pay of $4.7 million for the 2025 season. With that figure, Williams was the 17th highest-paid coach in the country, based on USA TODAY Sports' research of the Power Four plus any non-Power Fours that have qualified for three of the past five NCAA Tournaments. And he was the seventh-highest in the SEC.

According to a copy of his contract, obtained by the USA TODAY Sports, he was due a raise of $100,000 on Tuesday, which would have boosted his salary to $4.8 million.

Buzz Williams contract buyout

As part of the terms of Williams’ contract with Texas A&M, as long as the school exercised contract extension options on or before March 31 of 2024 and 2025, the Aggies are owed $1 million from the coach for leaving before the end of his deal.

So Maryland probably saved a bit of money, given the timing of the move. Williams’ buyout probably was cut in half, dropping from $2 million to $1 million, on Tuesday. The Terrapins are set to receive $2 million in buyout money from Willard.

Buzz Williams career record