INDIANAPOLIS -- Many assumed Ohio State football would extend coach Ryan Day’s contract and raise his compensation level after he led the Buckeyes back to the College Football Playoff.
The lucrative extension announced Tuesday morning surpassed some expectations. Day’s previous $4.5 million salary will now jump to $7.6 million in three years. Only four coaches in the nation made that much or more last season — three national champions and Michigan’s Jim Harbaugh.
Why did Ohio State make such a commitment to a second-year head coach? As Doug Lesmerises and Nathan Baird discussed, it had a lot to do with the men walking past them Tuesday at the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis.
Ohio State is now paying Day at a rate that probably ensures no college team can lure him away. The deal also will now also force NFL teams to make a significant offer to pull Day the quarterback guru out of Columbus.
Watch the video above for the full discussion and subscribe to Ohio State football on cleveland.com on YouTube for full offseason coverage on the Buckeyes.
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