It was reported earlier this month that Oklahoma was moving forward with a contract extension for head coach Lincoln Riley, but the extension still required approval from the board of regents. That approval has been granted, and Riley is going to have some extra cash coming his way.
According to multiple reporters out of Oklahoma, Riley’s contract has formally been extended through Jan. 31, 2024. As per the contract, Riley will be paid a stay bonus of $700,000 every June 1 during the course of his contract, with a $1 million stay bonus scheduled if he is still the head coach of Oklahoma on April 1, 2021.
Lincoln Riley contract extended through Jan. 31, 2024. Base salary: $325,000 (stays the same), increase additional income $400,000 to $3.975M, annual stay benefit $200K to $700,000, supplemental retirement doubled to $1M, additional stay benefit to $1M. #Sooners
— Ryan Aber (@ryaber) January 30, 2019
After coaching Oklahoma to a second straight Big 12 championship and College Football Playoff appearance with two consecutive Heisman Trophy winners, Riley was mentioned as a potential coaching candidate for NFL suitors. But Oklahoma worked to ensure Riley was satisfied staying in Norman for the long haul. This new contract extension will make Riley the highest-paid coach in the Big 12 with a contract at $6 million, surpassing Tom Herman of Texas (as well as Mike Gundy of Oklahoma State and Gary Patterson of TCU). Based off the coaching salary information from the 2018 season, Riley’s new $6 million contract bumps the Sooners coach into the top 10 in coaching salaries in college football (No. 9 overall based off the 2018 contract salary database maintained by USA Today).
In addition to Riley’s contract details, the board at Oklahoma also approved a $1.4 million contract for new defensive coordinator Alex Grinch, who joined the Sooners after a brief stint with Ohio State. Last year at Ohio State, Grinch was paid $1.15 million (while Greg Schiano was paid $1.5 million). Grinch’s new contract moves Grinch into the top 10 in assistant coaching salaries as well.
