Thanks in large part to back-to-back Heisman Trophy-winning quarterbacks, Lincoln Riley was a hot topic of speculation during the most recent spinning of the NFL coaching carousel, even as the head coach has stated in the past it’s “hard to see myself leaving Oklahoma” for the big-boy league of professional football. In approving a contract extension for Riley earlier this year, the coach’s employer gave itself a (very small) bit of a financial buffer should Riley ever change his mind.
Based on an open records request, Tulsa World reported Tuesday that, should Riley leave OU for any other job, including the NFL, after the 2019 season, he would owe the university $4.6 million. That number drops by $1 million every year thereafter until March 16, 2022, at which point a buyout would be waived.
Riley’s new deal runs through the 2023 season; if he’s the head coach on April 1, 2021, he would be due a $1 million bonus. Additionally, the World writes, “Riley receives $700,000 as an annual stay benefit if he remains employed as OU’s head coach on June 1 of each contract year.” The newspaper further writes that, "[i]n addition to the annual stay benefit after two seasons, Riley gets an annual amount of $1 million deposited into a supplemental retirement income plan.”
“Riley is immediately fully vested in the plan,” the paper added.
The $6 million in total compensation Riley will receive for 2019 is the most OU has paid any head football coach in its history, topping the $5.55 million Bob Stoops made in what turned out to be his final season in Norman.
The 35-year-old Riley just completed his second season at OU. In those two seasons, the Sooners have gone 24-4 and won a pair of Big 12 championships. The Sooners have also appeared in the playoffs both of those seasons and OU quarterbacks have claimed back-to-back Heisman Trophy wins — Kyler Murray this season (HERE), Baker Mayfield last (HERE).