It’s no secret that college football coaches are paid a ton of money with ridiculous contracts that sometimes make them the highest-paid public employees in their respective states.
When it comes to buyouts, the numbers are similarly huge with coaches often being owed millions of dollars if their school decides it’s time to part ways and fire the coach without cause.
So how much money would Ohio State have to pay Ryan Day if the Buckeyes wanted to fire their head coach?
Day — who has been the Buckeyes’ full-time head coach since the 2019 season — has the 17th-largest buyout among college football coaches as of 2024, according to USA TODAY Sports’ database of salaries and contracts. As of December 1, 2024, Day’s contract buyout is $37,276,042.
That’s definitely not the largest — Georgia’s Kirby Smart has the biggest buyout at $118,083,333 — but still a huge chunk of change if Ohio State ever decided to fire Day.
