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Lincoln Riley agrees to five-year, fully guaranteed deal with Oklahoma Sooners

By John Buhler

Oct 1, 2016; Fort Worth, TX, USA; Oklahoma Sooners offensive coordinator Lincoln Riley before the game against the TCU Horned Frogs at Amon G. Carter Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 1, 2016; Fort Worth, TX, USA; Oklahoma Sooners offensive coordinator Lincoln Riley before the game against the TCU Horned Frogs at Amon G. Carter Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports /
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Oklahoma Sooners head coach Lincoln Riley has inked a five-year contract extension with the university worth $3.5 million annually, fully guaranteed.

It was only a matter of time before the Oklahoma Sooners agreed to a long-term extension for new head football coach Lincoln Riley. Though he will only be 34 years old during his first season as head coach of Oklahoma football 2017, Riley has been carefully tabbed as the heir apparent to Bob Stoops in Norman.

According to FOX Sports’ Bruce Feldman, “[Oklahoma] and new [head coach] Lincoln Riley agree to a 5-year deal. It’s for an average of $3.5 million per year. This deal is fully guaranteed…”

For a first-time head coach, this is an incredible deal for Riley. Not just for the bump in pay from being the Sooners’ former offensive coordinator, but the contract being fully guaranteed. While that may only be $17.5 million during the life of the contract, it will allow Riley to comfortably usher in a new era of Oklahoma football.

In the chance that he’s not Stoops, it will only cost the University of Oklahoma $17.5 million to cut bait with Riley. For a major blue-blood program like Oklahoma with a massive fan base, this is the type of deal that would be expected for a first-time head coach like Riley at a traditional power.

It will be tough for Riley to replace one of the very best to do it in Norman in Stoops. However, he has been part of the Sooners staff the last two years. Riley successfully brought the Air Raid attack to Oklahoma and should have one of the better teams in the country in 2017.

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Though in-state rival Oklahoma State looks to be a top-10 program this fall as well, Oklahoma has a Heisman contender in redshirt senior quarterback Baker Mayfield. Oklahoma has won the Big 12 the last two years thanks in large part to the great play of Mayfield in Riley’s offense. The Bedlam Series should be one of the best games on the college slate this upcoming season.

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