What is Brent Venables' buyout? Details of the Oklahoma Sooners head coach's contract

In a season as disastrous as 2024 has been for the Oklahoma Sooners, it's only natural for fans to clamor for change in their program. The Sooners have largely been lifeless in SEC play due to a lackluster offense and are coming off of a humiliating 30-23 loss to the Missouri Tigers. 

This level of play has prompted a pretty heated debate regarding Brent Venables's future as the head coach of the Oklahoma Sooners. Heading into the season, it felt like Venables would get at least two seasons as Oklahoma adjusted to the SEC. That was before this absolute disaster of a season. 

What is his buyout if the Sooners decide to move on? According to On3's Pete Nakos, the Sooners would owe Brent Venables $44.8 million if they fired him at the end of the season.

However, as part of his most recent extension, the payout for his buyout is unique from other buyouts we've seen recently. 

Instead of an outright immediate trailer of cash, Oklahoma would pay Venables in monthly installments for the remaining five years of his contract. The contract does not require Oklahoma to pay Venables a lump sum by a certain date or include a reduced percentage buyout, both of which are pretty typical for most contracts.

If he is fired by the Sooners at the conclusion of the season, coach Venables would receive $711,243 per month until his contract expires on Jan. 31, 2030. The Sooners would pay Venables roughly $3.73 million per year for the next five years.

Here is the full breakdown of Venables' buyout by season: 

• $44.8 million after the 2024 season
• $34.9 million after the 2025 season
• $26.2 million after the 2026 season
• $17.4 million after the 2027 season
• $8.5 million after the 2028 season
• $0 after the 2029 season

It is pretty startling that we are having this conversation after the momentum Venables had following last season. The Sooners rebounded to a 10-2 finish in his second year with a huge win over rival Texas. Feasting on the momentum of three straight top-ten recruiting classes, it felt like Venables was turning things around from the end of the Lincoln Riley era. 

Instead, his seat is incredibly hot, leaving the long-term outlook of the Sooners relatively bleak without a fast turnaround.