Mizzou to pay Drinkwitz $4 million
Missouri's deal with new head football coach Eliah Drinkwitz won't become official until the Board of Curators meet to approve the hire Tuesday morning. But in the meantime, PowerMizzou has learned that Drinkwitz will earn an annual salary of $4 million. The Columbia Tribune first reported the news.
That will represent more than a 400 percent raise for Drinkwitz, who led Appalachian State to a 12-1 record in his first season as a college head coach. Drinkwitz made $750,000 with the Mountaineers. Missouri will also have to pay $1.7 million to buy out the remaining four years on Drinkwitz's contract at Appalachian State. Other details of Drinkwitz's agreement with Missouri, such as the length and buyout, have not yet been made publicly available.
Drinkwitz's compensation represents a raise from what Missouri paid Barry Odom. After receiving a contract extension prior to last season, Odom made $3.05 million in 2018. Missouri had to pay $2.85 million to buy Odom out of his contract when the school fired him on Nov. 30, but any money Odom earns from a new job would offset that buyout.
That salary would have tied Drinkwitz with Arkansas' Chad Morris for the eighth-highest compensation in the SEC last season. Meanwhile, Odom tied with Mississippi State's Joe Moorhead for last out of the 13 SEC head coaches at schools forced to reveal their compensation in 2019. Arkansas also expressed interest in hiring Drinkwitz, which may have driven up the price for Missouri to land him, but the Razorbacks ultimately settled on Georgia offensive line coach Sam Pittman.
The Board of Curators have called a meeting for 8 a.m. Tuesday. A press conference to formally announce Drinkwitz's hire will occur at 10:45. Stay tuned to PowerMizzou for complete coverage.