Not surprisingly, it will continue to pay to be the Ohio State football head coach.
Tuesday morning, OSU announced it has agreed to a three-year extension for Ryan Day. The coach is now signed through the 2026 season.
It should be noted that the agreement is pending approval by the Ohio State University Board of Trustees.
According to the school, Day will make $5.375 million from Feb. 1, 2020 through Jan. 31, 2021. Additionally, OSU will make an employer contribution of $1 million to his retirement continuation plan on Dec. 31, 2020. Day will then make $6.5 million in 2021 and $7.6 million in 2022.
“Increases to his compensation package after Feb. 1, 2023 will be determined by the director of athletics and approved by the Board of Trustees,” the school wrote.
In 2019, Day’s $4.5 million in guaranteed compensation was seventh in the Big Ten and 22nd nationally.
“Ryan Day’s management of this football program, from mentoring and leading our student-athletes in their academic pursuits and off-field endeavors to coaching them on the playing field, has been exceptional,” Senior Vice President and Wolfe Foundation Endowed Athletics Director Gene Smith said. “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 his first full season as the Ohio State football head coach, Day guided the Buckeyes to a 13-1 record. After winning the Big Ten title, Day became the first OSU coach in four decades to be named as the Big Ten Coach of the Year. Ohio State football also returned to the playoffs for the third time in six seasons.
Day is actually 16-1 as a head coach. With Urban Meyer suspended for the first three games of the 2018 season, the Buckeyes went 3-0 with Day as the acting head coach.