Oklahoma made a bit of a splash on Friday with the Board of Regents approving a six year contract extension for head football coach Brent Venables. Venables is set to make north of $8 million annually on the new deal, one that athletic director Joe Castiglione said was part of getting “SEC ready.”
The Sooners are set to join the SEC on July 1, along with rival and fellow Big 12 departer Texas. Speaking with media after the Board of Regents meeting, Castiglione shared that the Sooners prioritized building and sustaining stability as they enter the SEC.
“Well we’ve been working on strategies around the transition,” Castiglione said. “You’ve heard the term SEC ready. I know there are things we’re going to continue to work on as we move through the membership of the SEC but setting certain things in place and creating stability going forward was important. And talking about the fact that it’s roughly nine days away, we’re going to start counting it in hours here pretty soon, but very, very excited to become the new member of the SEC on July 1st.”
Venables’ new deal also comes after a handful of other contract extensions for various assistant coaches on the Oklahoma football staff. This strategy was another part of the stability that Castiglione is seeking.
Castiglione explained a bit more of the thinking behind the offseason moves in Norman.
“Well we’re proactive about contracts as best as we can,” Castiglione said. “And we we’re watching market, we’re certainly recognizing the performance of our coaches, the role that they play in leadership, the importance of not just talking about stability and the forward thinking and what our program wants to do in tracking toward future success, but demonstrating it. And I think our move in the contract for Coach Venables is a perfect example of that, what he’s been doing since he’s been on campus for two years and as we’re moving into a new league and setting the foundation in a right place for us to be successful going forward and pursue championships, just like all the best teams are trying to do and the ones we’re competing against.”
More on Venables’ new deal
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.
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