Day agrees to contract extension, hefty raise
With his new deal, Ryan Day is set to make $5.375M this year.
Ohio State has rewarded Ryan Day for his successful first season as coach of the football team.
The school announced Tuesday morning a three-year contract extension is pending approval from the school’s board of trustees.
“Ryan Day’s management of this football program, from mentoring and leading our student-athletes in their academic pursuits and offfield endeavors to coaching them on the playing field, has been exceptional,” Ohio State director of athletics Gene Smith said in a statement. “I am appreciative of his work. And I want to thank president Michael V. Drake for his leadership and the board of trustees for its work with this extension.”
In December 2018, Day agreed to a five-year contract to replace Urban Meyer as head coach of the Buckeyes.
That deal called for annual compensation of $4.5 million with a base salary of $850,000 and $2.39 million for media, promotions and public relations, $1.25 millionfor apparel, shoes and other equipment and $10,000 for a Coca-Cola promotional appearance.
He also is eligible for a variety of bonuses tied to team gradepoint average, on-field success and coaching awards among other perks.
With his new deal, Day is set to make $5.375 million over the
12 months beginning Feb. 1.
The following year, he will be paid $6.5 million, and his 2022 compensation will be $7.6 million.
According to USA Today’s database of college football coach salaries, Clemson’s Dabo Swinney was the highest-paid in the country last season with total compensation of $9.3 million. Nick Saban made $8.85 million at Alabama while Jim Harbaugh was paid $7.504 million at Michigan and Texas A&M paid Jimbo Fisher $7.5 million.
Day came to Ohio State as quarterbacks coach and co-offensive coordinator in 2017 and received a $400,000 annual salary.
A year later, he received a new three-year contract worth $1 million annually after reportedly turning down other job opportunities, reportedly including an offer to be the offensive coordinator for the Tennessee Titans.
He was tapped as Meyer’s successor last year after Meyer opted to retire for medical reasons and take a job in the OSU administration.
In 2019, Day went 13-1 in his first season as coach of the Buckeyes, a run that included a Big Ten Championship, College Football Playoff appearance and blowout win over Michigan.
According to the school, Day’s 13 victories in 2019 tied for the most by a firstyear FBS head coach, and he became the first coach to win 13 games without one being in a bowl.
All in all, he has a 16-1 record as a head coach including three games at the helm in 2018 when Meyer was suspended for mismanaging the employment of assistant coach Zach Smith.
After signing a relatively small recruiting class that ranked 14th in the country in 2019 per 247Sports Composite rankings, Day put together the No. 5 class in the country last season. His 2021 class ranked No. 1 in the nation as of Tuesday afternoon.
“We want to have great players, the best players in the country, but the right fit for this program and this culture,” Day said on National Signing Day earlier this month.