Ryan Day contract details: Ohio State coach salary, buyout, bonuses

Ohio State football coach Ryan Day signed a landmark new extension that will keep him with the program through the 2031 season, and now we have more of an idea of what the Buckeyes will be paying him going forward.

Day’s new contract includes a school buyout totaling $11.5 million for every year remaining on the deal, max bonuses of $1.55 million, and a $250,000 retention bonus in 2027.

Those figures were made available according to documents obtained by CBS Sports.

The seven-year pact will net Day a base salary of $12.5 million per season, making him the projected second highest-paid head coach in college football.

“Ohio State Football has long been defined by excellence and, under Ryan Day’s leadership, that tradition has not only continued, but thrived,” athletic director Ross Bjork said in a statement.

“As a leader, mentor, and coach, Ryan has consistently demonstrated an unwavering commitment to the success and well-being of our players, both on and off the field.”

Bjork added: “His leadership has maintained our position of national prominence each year and winning the 2024 national championship validated his program’s culture of excellence, integrity, and perseverance.”

Day led Ohio State to a 14-2 record and a victory in the College Football Playoff National Championship Game over Notre Dame, the Buckeyes’ first title since 2014.

Ohio State defeated SEC challenger Tennessee by 25 points and then Big Ten champion Oregon in the Rose Bowl quarterfinal by 20 points during its dominant playoff run.

Day’s team then edged out SEC runner-up Texas by two touchdowns in the Cotton Bowl semifinal game, capped off by Jack Sawyer’s instant-classic 83-yard scoop-and-score touchdown when he stripped quarterback Quinn Ewers near the end of regulation.

Ohio State has won at least 11 games in all but one season under Day, with the exception being a 7-1 record during the Covid-19 season in 2020, when the Buckeyes finished as national finalists, ultimately falling to Alabama in the CFP championship game that year.

Day previously served as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Ohio State under head coach Urban Meyer from 2017 to 2018 and was named the acting head football coach when Meyer was placed under administrative leave in 2018.

After being named as Meyer’s successor in 2019, Day has led the Buckeyes to a 70-10 overall record, including a 6-4 bowl mark and 5-3 run in the College Football Playoff.

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(CBS)