Ohio State Head Coach Ryan Day To Receive Raise, Three-Year Contract Extension, Pending University Approval

After leading Ohio State to a Big Ten championship and berth in the College Football Playoff in his first season as head coach, Ryan Day is set to receive a contract extension that will run through the 2026 season and pay him more than $20 million over the next three seasons, the university announced on Tuesday morning. 

If approved by the board of trustees later this week, Day will make approximately $5.4 million for the 2020 season, with Ohio State making a contribution of $1 million to his retirement plan at the end of the year. He will receive $6.5 million in 2021 and $7.6 million in 2022, with increases to his compensation for 2023-26 to be determined and approved by the board of trustees at a later date.

Day’s initial five-year contract paid him $4.5 million per year, as well as $450,000 in bonuses for reaching various predetermined benchmarks in 2019. Day will continue to be paid that salary until June 30.

“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 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.”

Day will become the Big Ten’s third-highest paid coach in 2020, trailing Michigan’s Jim Harbaugh ($8 million) and Purdue’s Jeff Brohm ($6.6 million). Penn State’s James Franklin also verbally agreed to a contract extension in December that is expected to be in the same vicinity as Day’s, though details won’t be released until it’s signed by both parties.