What is Brent Venables buyout? Did Oklahoma give him an extension too soon?

Following a 10-3 season in 2023, Oklahoma locked up head coach Brent Venables after just two years in Norman. The program prioritized stability amidst a tectonic shift from the Big 12 to the SEC and handed Venables a six-year extension with a total value of $51.6 million, locking him in through the 2029 season. 

Now, in his third season, the former Clemson defensive coordinator and former Oklahoma assistant is making an average annual value of $8.5. However, the transition to the SEC has not been smooth. Oklahoma allowed veteran quarterback Dillon Gabriel to transfer away to Oregon for his sixth and final year of eligibility and replaced him with former five-star sophomore Jackson Arnold. 

Despite handing the keys to the program to Arnold, it took just one half of SEC football for Venables to bench him for true freshman Michael Hawkins Jr. Venables's defense has been quite successful, aside from a 34-3 Red River Rivalry loss to Texas, but Hawkins Jr. has not been able to overcome the lack of talent on Oklahoma’s offensive line and injuries to five of his team’s best wide receivers.

The perennial Big 12 power is currently sinking to the basement of the SEC and it has plenty of fans questioning whether Venables was the right guy for the job. Oklahoma turned to the now 53-year-old coach after Lincoln Riley fled Norman for USC ahead of the move to the SEC. Venables’s original contract at OU was for $43.5 million over six years. If the program wants to change course, it will be an expensive decision, and Venables’s six-year extension, a costly mistake. 

What is Brent Venables's buyout at Oklahoma?

Brent Venables’s buyout at Oklahoma is $44,808,333. 

Venables is under contract through 2029 on a six-year extension worth $51.6 million which carries an annual value of $8.5 million.