How much is Ryan Day’s buyout? Curious Buckeye heads want to know

Ryan Day is a good football coach and won a lot of games at Ohio State University, but he didn’t win the important games and that would be the games against Michigan. Today’s loss to a Michigan team that is a shadow of what it was last season ensured that Day 1-4 was a loss to the Buckeyes’ hated rival, and fans are starting to circle.

It’s one thing to consistently make the College Football Playoff and have very little success and not win a championship since 2014, but it’s another thing to lose three straight games to TTUN, especially when they’re in 6-5 this season, they no longer look like the giants they were in the past with Jim Harbaugh at the helm.

Day may be numbered at Ohio State, pun intended.

However, if the Buckeyes decided to move on from Ryan Day, what would be the financial hit to the university?

Should Ohio State decide to fire Day, the university would owe him $37.28 million as of Dec. 1, 2024, according to the head coaching salary database. Day is one of the highest paid coaches in college football, but his buyout is not among the highest among active head coaches.

Day is the fifth-highest paid coach in college football, earning a total of $10.02 million in 2024 if he remains employed through January 2025. Back in May 2022, Day signed a seven-year contract extension with the Buckeyes that would commit him to the university until 2028.

While it seems like Day’s buyout is big, especially for some universities, they would be willing to take that setback given the kind of money Ohio State has. Ohio State has not played in the Big Ten Championship game since 2020, as the Buckeyes lost to the Wolverines in three games.

Ohio State isn’t used to losing so much, especially against their bitter rival, so they’re willing to make a move if they have to, but it will certainly come at a price.