Ryan Day's Buyout at $3.5 million, Falls 500K per-year

New contract would keep OSU coach on the job through 2026

NFL teams that want to hire Ohio State coach Ryan Day won't face a problematic buyout in the new contract the school's Board of Trustees approved on Thursday.

Day''s deal outlines an initial buyout of $3.5 million that he would have to pay Ohio State if he leaves before Jan. 31, 2021. He would owe the school that within 45 days, plus whatever OSU wound up owing assistant coaches who are put out of work and unable to find new employment due to Day's departure.

That buyout declines by $500,000 per-year each year Day remains at Ohio State, falling to $3 million following the 2021 season, all the way down to a buyout of just $500,000 after the 2026 season.

If Day leaves OSU..	Day owes OSU a buyout of...
before 1-31-2021	$3.5 million
2-1-21 to 1-31-22	$3 million
2-1-22 to 1-31-23	$2.5 million
2-1-23 to 1-31-24	$2 million
2-1-24 to 1-31-25	$1.5 million
2-1-25 to 1-31-26	$1 million
2-1-26 to 1-31-27	$500,000

The reality is, Day's contract will likely be reworked long before that, as these new terms cancel those of the original five-year contract he signed last year.

OSU moved to sweeten Day's deal in the aftermath of a 13-1 season in which his team won the school's third straight outright Big Ten championship and reached the College Football Playoff.

Day received a salary bump from $4.5 million in 2019 to $5.4 million for 2020, $6.5 million for 2021 and $7.6 million for 2022.

He can negotiate for raises beyond that.

Day's assistant coaching salary pool of $7.2 million for 2019 ranked third in college football behind Alabama ($7.5 million) and Clemson ($7.4 million) according to USA Today.

This past season, only Clemson’s Dabo Sweeney, Alabama’s Nick Saban, Texas A&M’s Jimbo Fisher and Michigan’s Jim Harbaugh made more than $7.5 million.

An oddity of Day's contract, -- common to most, if not all, Power 5 football coaches -- is that he's contractually compensated more per-month for performing "media, promotions and public relations" duties than he is for coaching.

Day's base salary per-month, starting this July, is $120,833, while he also receives $199,513 for "media payments."

His media compensation in 2021 is $2.7 million, plus a $1.5 million base salary.

His media compensation for 2022 is $3.8 million, compared to his $1.6 million base salary.

Day, of course, spends far more time coaching than he does doing interviews, public relations appearances or anything else on behalf of the university.

Ohio State, and others, seem loathe to admit that coaches earn monthly salaries of a half-million dollars or more simply for coaching.

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