Brent Venables takes $1 million pay cut in 2025, per report
By Sydney Hunte
Published:
Brent Venables is entering a key 2025 after Oklahoma finished 2024 with its second losing season in three years.
Now, it looks like the 4th-year Sooners head coach has adjusted his pay in the wake of college football’s new normal.
According to USA Today’s Steve Berkowitz, Venables has taken a $1 million pay cut for the season. That money will “contribute to the department’s revenue-sharing efforts,” according to a spokesperson. Venables was originally scheduled to make $7.55 million in 2025.
As Berkowitz notes, Venables is not the only coach to take a pay cut with revenue sharing in mind. Florida State’s Mike Norvell and Oklahoma State’s Mike Gundy have made similar moves ahead of the upcoming season.
With Oklahoma entering the season in the top 25 ahead of its season opener against FCS Illinois State on Saturday, Brent Venables is on a hot seat. Before the Sooners’ 6-7 record in 2022, their last losing record came in 1998 under John Blake, their third-straight sub-.500 campaign. They’ve now finished under .500 in two of the last 3 years.
Venables revamped his coaching staff, taking on defensive play-calling duties while hiring Ben Arbuckle from Washington State as offensive coordinator. He also added Arbuckle’s quarterback in Pullman, John Mateer, from the transfer portal. Mateer threw for 29 touchdowns and over 3,100 yards in 2024.
Sydney is an Atlanta-based journalist who has covered everything from SEC and ACC football to MLS, the U.S. men's national soccer team and professional tennis. His work has appeared on such platforms as SB Nation, Cox Media Group and FanSided.
