Eli Drinkwitz contract extension: Salary, details revealed

Missouri‘s impressive Cotton Bowl win over Ohio State was closely followed by news that the Tigers would be giving head coach Eliah Drinkwitz a contract extension through the 2028 season. And on Monday, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported the details of Drinkwitz’s new extension, which has him now getting paid amongst the SEC’s top coaches.

Drinkwitz’s new deal will pay him $46 million over five years, starting with $9 million for the 2024 season according to public records obtained by the Post-Dispatch.

The Tigers had an impressive 11-2 finish to the 2023 season in their fourth season under Drinkwitz, marking the program’s best record since 2014. He also took home the SEC Coach of the Year Award, and will now be roughly the fifth highest-paid coach in the Southeastern Conference ahead of the league’s expansion to 16 teams.

Drinkwitz was already Mizzou’s highest-paid coach in program history but his annual salary now takes a bump after making $6 million for the 2023 season, with automatic raises built into his contract every two years.

The deal also features a buyout of $5 million and a multitude of new incentives surrounding the expanded 12-team College Football Playoff. If the Tigers make the 12-team playoff under Drinkwitz he’ll receive a $250,000 bonus, followed by a $300,000 for advancing to the quarterfinals, a $450,000 bonus for advancing to the semifinals, a $600,000 bonus for appearing in the national championship, and a national title win bringing in around a $750,000.

Other bonuses include a $50,000 bonus for repeating as SEC Coach of the Year, $150,000 for making a bowl game, $150,000 for appearing in the SEC Championship game, and $300,000 for winning the SEC title.

Drinkwitz was hired ahead of the 2020 season following one lone year as the head coach at Appalachian State, leading the Mountaineers to a 12-1 record and Sun Belt Championship behind his high-powered offense. After a 5-5 record in his first season at the helm for Mizzou and two straight 6-7 finishes following that, Drinkwitz led the Tigers to one of their most impressive seasons to date in 2023 and is now reaping the benefits

“My family and I want to thank the Board of Curators, President Choi, and Desireé Reed-Francois for their faith in me as the head coach. You can’t do this alone, and our players, coaches and staff have worked tirelessly and believed in the process of building a championship program,” Drinkwitz said.

“The passion of our fan base, alumni and donors is awesome, and we are proud to represent them. We are extremely grateful for the resources they provide and the continued investment from our administration in Mizzou Football. All of it has allowed us to get to where we are. Why stop now!”