On the eve of the Oklahoma Sooners' 2025 season opener on Friday evening, news broke that OU head coach Brent Venables took a $1 million pay cut so that money could go toward the Sooners' revenue share, which is how student-athletes now get paid.
USA Today first reported the news, but the only word from Venables or OU at the time was a statement from the university that said, "It was initiated by Coach Venables as a one-time give-back to contribute to the department's revenue-sharing efforts."
Finally, Saturday night after the Sooners beat Illinois State 35-3, Venables was asked and explained why he made the gesture and also admitted he didn't know how the information got out.
Brent Venables explains why he took pay cut to go toward Sooners' revenue share
"I did it because I think it was the right thing to do," Venables said. "I've lived a very favor career, way more than I deserve. I wanna help Oklahoma be a winner. Everybody can play a role into that. (Venables' wife) Julie and I spoke over several days on what that might look like. We worked it out with the administration. I just think it's right. The players deserve that. Everything's different than what it was 5, 10, 15 years ago.
"It's a very small gesture, but I wanted to send a message to our players, but also other donors, too. I know how that can really help, and I do feel like maybe it did. The buy-in is there. It's not one-sided. It's all of us together if we're gonna be successful."
Other coaches have done this, especially those on the hot seat like Venables, in the new age of paying players and needing talent to win games and keep their jobs. Oklahoma State's Mike Gundy even also took a $1 million pay cut after his 3-9 season last year. However, Gundy was nearly forced to restructure his contract in a standoff with administration, while Venables initiated the plan in February.
For now at least, this seems to be a one-time occurrence from Venables. After making $7.55 million in 2025 after the reduction, if Venables saves his job, going forward he will make $8.65 million for 2026 and 2027, $8.75 million in 2028 and $8.85 million in 2029.
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