Ohio State coach Ryan Day gets contract extension through 2031 following national title
Ohio State’s run to the national championship has resulted in a new contract for coach Ryan Day.
The school announced Thursday that Day had signed a contract extension through the 2031 season. The new deal adds three years to Day’s previous contract and raises his salary to $12.5 million per season.
“Ohio State football has long been defined by excellence and under Ryan Day’s leadership, that tradition has not only continued, but thrived,” Ohio State 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. 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.”
Ohio State lost to Oregon and Michigan during the regular season but beat Tennessee to open the College Football Playoff before blowing out Oregon in a Rose Bowl rematch. The Buckeyes then took down Texas and Notre Dame to win their first national title in a decade.
According to USA Today’s salary database, Day was the fifth-highest paid coach in college football in 2024 behind Georgia’s Kirby Smart, Clemson’s Dabo Swinney, Texas’ Steve Sarkisian and USC’s Lincoln Riley. Day’s total pay was just over $10 million in 2024.
Sarkisian also signed a contract extension with the Longhorns this offseason that runs through 2031 and included a pay raise.
Day’s contract extension comes after assistant coach Brian Hartline was elevated to offensive coordinator on Wednesday. Hartline, who served as OSU’s offensive coordinator in 2023, was the team’s co-offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach in 2024 after Chip Kelly arrived to run the offense. Kelly left for the OC job with the Las Vegas Raiders after one season, and Hartline will move back into the role of coordinator in 2025. Two years ago, Day was the play-caller, not Hartline. In 2025, Hartline will call plays.
Ohio State is also looking for a defensive coordinator following the departure of Jim Knowles to Penn State. Knowles, a Pennsylvania native, is now the highest-paid defensive coordinator in college football.
