Ohio State president "working the details" to extend Ryan Day's contract

Less than two months after a crushing loss to Michigan, Ohio State's Ryan Day redeemed himself to the Buckeyes' fanbase by winning a College Football Playoff national title. The march to the sport's mountaintop likely also earned Day a new deal to stick around in Columbus even longer.

It was reported Sunday that Ohio State is interested in rewarding Ryan Day with a new deal, one that could make the Buckeyes' sideline boss the richest in college football.

"We're working (on a contract extension)," Ohio State president Ted Carter told Eleven Warriors' Chase Brown. "We don't have any announcements yet, but we have intent. I know Ryan wants to stay here, so we're working the details."

Day's current deal has him coaching Ohio State through the 2028 season, paying him $10.02 million in 2024, per the Columbus Dispatch.

His national title win earned him a $1 million bonus. Clemson's Dabo Swinney, Georgia's Kirby Smart, Texas' Steve Sarkisian and USC's Lincoln Riley are the only college football coaches more highly-paid than Day.

---

How Ryan Day made a case for a new deal

The role Ryan Day will play for Ohio State going forward is as important as ever, especially considering what he will have to do for his crew to remain in its perch. The Buckeyes' defensive coordinator this season, Jim Knowles, left for Penn State.

Following the setback to the Wolverines that at the time felt like the death knell for Ohio State's season, Day and the Buckeyes tore through the College Football Playoff. In front of an Ohio Stadium crowd that included more Tennessee fans than it would've liked, Ohio State made easy work of the Volunteers, winning 42-17 in the opening round.

Ryan Day and the Buckeyes used that momentum to leap out to a 34-0 lead against Big 10 champion Oregon in the Rose Bowl, earning a ticket to the Cotton Bowl semifinal against Texas, which they won 41-21.

Sarkisian and the Longhorns put up a solid fight in Arlington, having been within a touchdown late before Jack Sawyer strip-sacked Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers and returned the loose ball for a back-breaking touchdown in a 28-14 victory.

After allowing an early score in the national title game, Ohio State scored 31 unanswered points against Notre Dame on the way to a 34-23 win.

NFL teams reach out to Day's camp every now and then, but he has showed no interest in leaving Columbus for the pros.

"They don't really reach out to me. They would reach out, I guess, to my agent, and that happens sometimes," Day said Friday on "The Dan Patrick Show." "But, you know, we have not really engaged because I love Ohio State, and I wanna be here as long as I can. ... It's not a goal."

Day has compiled a 70-10 record with the Buckeyes.