COLUMBUS, Ohio -- After Ryan Day led Ohio State football back into national championship contention in 2019, he will be paid like one of the nation’s best coaches.
Ohio State announced Tuesday morning that Day will receive a three-year contract extension with annual raises, pending approval of the Board of Trustees later this week. The extension pushes Day’s contract through the 2026 season.
According to a news release, Day will receive his current salary through June 30, 2020. Beginning July 1, he will be paid at an annualized rate of $6 million through Jan. 31, 2021. Additionally, OSU will contribute $1 million to his retirement continuation plan on Dec. 31.
Day’s total compensation for the period from Feb. 1 through Jan. 31, 2020, will be $5.373 million. His annual salary increases to $6.5 million for the 2021 season and $7.6 million for the 2022 season.
Compensation package increases beyond Feb. 1, 2023, will be determined by the athletic director and approved by the Board of Trustees.
Per the USA coaching salary database, only four coaches — Clemson’s Dabo Sweeney, Alabama’s Nick Saban, Michigan’s Jim Harbaugh and Texas A&M’s Jimbo Fisher — were paid $7.5 million or more for the 2018-19 academic year.
“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,” athletic director Gene Smith said in the news release. “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.”
The news release made no mention of changes to the buyout clause in Day’s contract. Per language in his original contract, Ohio State would owe Day the balance of his contract — $18 million as of this month — if firing him without cause.
Under terms of the original contract, Day would owe Ohio State $2 million, plus damages, to exit the contract before Jan. 31, 2021, decreasing by $500,000 each year after.
The news release also did not address two $250,000 retention bonuses payable to Day in 2022 and 2024.
Where Day stands
According to USA Today, Day’s 2019 salary of $4.5 million ranked 22nd nationally. A market correction, however, was considered inevitable after Ohio State went undefeated in the regular season, won its third straight Big Ten Conference championship and returned to the College Football Playoff semifinals.
Day was the first Ohio State coach named Big Ten Coach of the Year since 1979 and was a finalist for several national coach of the year awards.
Prior to the extension, Day ranked sixth among Big Ten coaches in 2018-19 compensation before Michigan State hired Mel Tucker away from Colorado at $5.5 million annually. Only Penn State’s James Franklin ($5.65 million) and Michigan’s Harbaugh ($5.5 million) were owed higher base salaries in 2019 than the one Day will earn next season.
Day, who turns 41 in March, came to Ohio State in 2017 as co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach under Urbana Meyer. He served as interim head coach when Meyer served a three-game suspension in 2018 and succeeded him full-time when the national championship-winning coach stepped down.
Ohio State then rolled through the regular season and returned to the playoffs for the first time since 2016. Led by Heisman Trophy finalists Justin Fields and Chase Young, the Buckeyes ranked among the most potent offenses and stingiest defenses in the nation. They went undefeated through a Big Ten championship game victory over Wisconsin before falling to Clemson in the Fiesta Bowl.
Updated contract information for Day’s assistant coaches has not yet been released.
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