Ohio State‘s Ryan Day will be paid a bonus of $487,000 at the end of the month for his work leading the Buckeye football team in Urban Meyer’s absence. Meyer will lose more than $500,000 as a result of his recent suspension.
Day signed the contract addendum for the bonus pay this Monday, according to records released Wednesday by Ohio State. Meyer praised Day’s work as “elite” during the past six weeks, during which No. 4 Ohio State won its first three games of the season.
“He’s done, and this coaching staff has done phenomenal,” Meyer said Monday. “You guys are witness to it.”
Meyer returned full-time this week after serving a three-game suspension for failing to uphold the standards of the university when handling a string of misbehavior by former assistant coach Zach Smith, which includes allegations of domestic violence. A two-week long investigation completed in mid-August found that Meyer didn’t manage Smith appropriately and misrepresented what he knew about domestic violence allegations made by Smith’s ex-wife when asked about the former coach in July.
Day was the team’s top leader from Aug. 1 through Sept. 2. He also served as the head coach during games in the following two weeks. That means he was paid more than $14,000 per day on top of his $1 million salary for his work as the acting head coach.
Meyer’s pay was reduced by $570,507.68 as a result of the suspension, according to a separate document released by the university Wednesday. Ohio State President Michael Drake sent a letter to Meyer on Aug. 30 outlining the agreed upon decrease in pay. The letter was signed by Meyer and athletic director Gene Smith.
Gene Smith was also suspended for the first three weeks of Septemember as a result of the same weeks-long university investigation that led to Meyer’s suspension. Smith was docked $60,711.16 from his $1.4 million annual salary.
The university also agreed to pay the law firm who directed its investigation into the matter up to $500,000. The final bill for that work has not yet been made public.