The Oklahoma Sooners and head coach Brent Venables agreed to a two-year contract extension on Aug. 20, prior to the beginning of the 2026 campaign. Friday morning, the details of that deal finally came to light.
According to Sooner Scoop’s George Stoia, Venables’ new pact is a six-year, $63 million contract. Venables’ salary increases $200K per year over the life of the deal. His buyout — the more important detail to Oklahoma’s fanbase after the Sooners’ struggles — stands at $51.7 million after this season, the 12th-largest in college football.
Venables’ buyout decreased by $10 million per year across the first four seasons of his deal. In year five, the figure drops all the way to $5.8 million.
Oklahoma (3-2, 1-1 SEC) opened the 2026 campaign as the No. 10 team in the country. With John Mateer returning and Venables’ defensive acumen, fans in Norman were hoping to take a step forward from last year’s College Football Playoff appearance and compete for a national championship.
A 51-0 triumph against UTEP in Week 1 seemingly set the stage for Oklahoma’s potential rise. Unfortunately, from that moment forward, Mateer and the offense have been stuck in neutral. The Sooners scored only 10 points in a loss to Michigan, 14 against New Mexico and 13 on the road at Georgia. They beat the arch-rival Texas Longhorns in Week 6 to save their season, but needed defensive and special teams touchdowns to do so.
It hasn’t been pretty, but as long as you’re winning, it doesn’t need to be. Oklahoma hosts No. 15 Kentucky on Saturday night (7:30 p.m. E.T., SEC Network).
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