Terms for the contract extension for Oklahoma head coach Brent Venables have come in, and the Sooners head man is getting a modest raise of the six-year term tacked on to his current deal. All told, the new extension — approved by the Board of Regents — covers six years and is worth a bit more than $46 million, according to SoonerScoop.
Venables is set to make his base salary of $7.2 million this season before a $400,000 raise in annual salary hits for the 2025 season. Venables’ base compensation will go up by $100,000 in three of the next four years, paying him $7.925 million annually in 2029, the last year of the extension.
Venables’ compensation also includes an annual payment of $600,000, according to Tom Green. That means his average annual base compensation during the term of the deal will sit at $8.25 million.
Venables original contract with Oklahoma required him to be paid whatever was remaining on his contract as a buyout were the Sooners to fire him without cause. It’s unknown if the Sooners and Venables renegotiated terms of the buyout as part of this contract extension.
The raise also comes for Venables as Oklahoma is set to join the SEC for the foreseeable future. The Sooners are seemingly intent on raising the commitment in football and athletics to be on par with league competition. Venables had the 10th highest annual salary of coaches set to be leading SEC programs in 2024; by the end of his new deal, he would be the 9th-highest paid coach in the league, assuming the other salaries remain static.
Through a pair of seasons back at OU as head coach, Venables has posted a record of 16-10 overall. The improvement from year one to year two, though, was clear as the Sooners went from 6-7 in his debut season to 10-3. Development on both sides of the ball were obvious for Oklahoma in 2023. They went from 32.8 ppg. (33rd) to 41.7 ppg. (4th) on offense while also going from allowing 30 ppg. (90th) to 23.5 (49th) on defense.
Venables has a highly successful resumé through his career as a coach, specifically at his last two stops. After starting at Kansas State, he has spent the past quarter century at both Oklahoma and Clemson.
After starting at 3-0 in 2022, Oklahoma finished 3-7 in the Big 12 and in the Cheez-It Bowl. Although they lost their final four by just three points apiece, they also suffered a 31-point loss to TCU and a 49-0 blowout and shutout to Texas in the Red River Rivalry.
Again, though, 2023 was much better under Venables. The Sooners started at 7-0, including a win over the Longhorns this time around. That allowed them to reach as high as sixth in the nation in the AP Poll. A pair of losses afterward took them out of the national race from there but they still finished the regular season at 10-2 before a season-ending defeat to Arizona in the Alamo Bowl.
Venables has also been recruiting at a national level for the program. All three of his classes that he is credited with so far have been in the Top-10 of On3’s Football Team Recruiting Rankings, including at as high as No. 6 in 2023. 2025 is on pace to do the same as it currently sits at No. 10.
On3’s Sam Gillenwater contributed to this report.
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