After leading the Ohio State Buckeyes to the College Football Playoff in his first season as head coach, Ryan Day earns a well-deserved bump in pay.
Ryan Day cashed in big time on Tuesday morning.
He had huge shoes to fill in Columbus when he took over for Urban Meyer last year. Meyer’s retirement from coaching led to Day’s accession to the next head coach of the Ohio State Buckeyes. Meyer had plenty of top assistant coaches over the years, but he believed Day was a cut above the rest. After one year on the job in Columbus, Day earned himself quite the payday.
ESPN reports Day was given a three-year extension that will run through 2022, with a significant bump in pay with each subsequent season. When Day replaced Meyer as the Ohio State coach in December 2018, he was given a five-year deal worth $4.5 million.
He has made $5.375 million since Feb. 1 and that number will go up to $6 million on July 1. Day’s 2021 salary will go up to $6.5 million and then up to $7.6 million in 2022. All the while, Ohio State will kick in $1 million to his retirement fund on Dec. 31, 2020. Not too bad for a guy with only 14 games as a head coach to his name, but has he done enough to earn this drastic bump in pay?
First off, you are worth what someone is willing to pay you. Day is in his very early 40s and might be the next great college head coach. He just went 13-1 in his first year leading Ohio State. Day has never lost a regular-season game and his only defeat came in the final seconds to the Clemson Tigers in the College Football Playoff.
What is Ohio State going to do? Let him get poached by some school willing to pay more? Hell no!
With Justin Fields returning to Columbus for his junior season, Ohio State will be among the favorites to win the College Football Playoff in 2020. Fields was already a Heisman finalist in his first year with the Buckeyes. Clearly, Day knows what he’s doing offensively. It’s why Ohio State will remain one of the preeminent college football programs in the country for a very long time.
With only one year’s experience leading a program, Day shouldn’t be paid the most of any coach in the country. However, with undeniable early returns, Ohio State would be foolish to not pay its head-coaching wunderkind a respectable salary among his peers.
Day is one of the best college coaches in the country and he will now be paid as such. It’s good to be Day these days.
For more NCAA football news, analysis, opinion and unique coverage by FanSided, including Heisman Trophy and College Football Playoff rankings, be sure to bookmark these pages.