By all accounts, the highest-paid college wrestling coach in the country now resides in Stillwater.
PFB obtained details of new Oklahoma State wrestling coach David Taylor’s contact on Friday. Taylor, 33, was hired to replace John Smith, who retired after leading the Cowboys for 33 years. Smith made $500,000 in 2023, according to Tulsa World’s state employee salary database.
According to the six-year contract, which runs through 2030, Taylor is set to make $1 million the first year, followed by $30,000 raises each year after, putting Taylor’s contract at $1,150,000 in the final year of the contract. According to available public records, Taylor is now the highest-paid college wrestling coach in the country and is the first college wrestling coach to have a salary reach the $1 million threshold.
On top of the salary, Taylor will also have the opportunity for performance incentive bonuses. Those include $125,000 for an NCAA championship, $80,000 for a runner-up finish, $60,000 for a third-place finish and $10,000 for every individual NCAA champion.
Benefits also include a golf course membership, four tickets to OSU football games, the use of a luxury suite during wrestling duals, up to 12 tickets to wrestling duals and up to 12 tickets to postseason tournaments.
Here’s how the contract’s payout structure looks:
Year 1 (2024-25): $1,000,000
Year 2 (2025-26): $1,030,000
Year 3 (2026-27): $1,060,000
Year 4 (2027-28): $1,090,000
Year 5 (2028-29): $1,120,000
Year 6 (2029-30): $1,150,000
For comparison, Iowa coach Tom Brands will make $700,000 during the 2024-25 season, according to his contract details reported by Hawk Central. Brands signed a contract extension in 2022 that included a large salary increase and extends until the 2028-29 season, during which Brands will make $800,000, the most during the contract. Brands’ contract had him getting a $75,000 raise after the first year, then $25,000 each year after until 2028. Brands made $350,000 during the 2021-22 season before the extension, according to Hawk Central.
Penn State coach Cael Sanderson has led the Nittany Lions to the past three national titles and 11 total, but Penn State does not release contract details for its wrestling coach. Based on success, it’s fair to assume Sanderson makes more than Brands, but according to what’s been reported, Brands was the highest-paid college wrestling coach before Taylor’s contract. Other reports indicate Sanderson’s salary still would not match or surpass Taylor’s.
But Iowa and Penn State don’t have Paycom founder and CEO Chad Richison backing their programs. Richison, with a net worth of $1.4 billion according to Forbes, was an integrate part in attracting Taylor to Stillwater during OSU’s coaching search.
“As you can imagine, Chad is a very busy leading a large company, but I’m grateful for him being willing to join us in the process, being exceedingly generous with this time and counsel, for providing his plane to get us where we needed to be and for the contributions to our program,” said OSU athletic director Chad Weiberg of Richison at Taylor’s introduction news conference. “It put us in a position to hire the best leader and coach for Cowboy wrestling. Again, as I said in the press release, we are allowed to have the expectations we have for this program only because of the elite support we have. While there are many others to thank, and we will, Chad embodies the commitment that is necessary if you want to be great. It isn’t a one-time thing. It has to be ongoing. So, thank you, Chad, for your support that you provide and commitment to the future of Cowboy wrestling and for the sport of wrestling in Oklahoma.
Said Richison: “To be able to play a part in this, I’m just grateful. I’m not administration. I’m support staff. When I saw the university step forward with what they’re willing to do to put wrestling first, it was a pretty easy thing for me to follow because it fits with my passion. Helping fund a sustainable organization like the regional training center that David is going to continue to build, I think is just a great opportunity for me and for Oklahoma wrestling in general.”
Richison has committed to financially support Cowboy wrestling going forward, as well, and also did so when Smith was in charge. The wrestling locker room was recently upgraded, but the program is also set to get a new facility that includes a larger wrestling room, a dedicated space for spectators for recruiting and donor visits, and meeting spaces, according to an OSU release. The Cowboys are also apparently not without NIL backing, bringing in four additions from the transfer portal so far this offseason, three of which are multi-time All-Americans.
“I think that’s what makes this place special,” Taylor said. “The administration, Chad, Reid and Chad Richison, obviously a huge supporter, as Chad [Weiberg] talked about. There was a genuine passion. That was a word that I just kept coming back to. How many athletic departments love wrestling like these guys love wrestling? Not many, if any, and you need that. We need that to be successful. And that’s something that’s special. They’re going to pour into this program, and they’re going to give us resources to be successful.”
Read this original article at Pistols Firing Blog.