David Taylor contract details with Oklahoma State wrestling revealed

Oklahoma State wrestling coach David Taylor’s contract details were revealed Friday, first reported by Pistols Firing.

Taylor, who was hired this offseason to replace the retired John Smith, was the splash news of the coaching cycle. Coming off a loss at the Olympic Trials, after he won Gold at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, Taylor retired from competition and was hired by Oklahoma State.

The school went all out to hire Taylor and his contract details can be seen below.

“According to the six-year contract, which runs through March 31, 2030, Taylor is set to make $1 million the first year, followed by $30,000 raises each year after, putting Taylor’s contract at $1.15 million in the final year of the contract,” Dekota Gregory wrote. “The deal, which was signed by Taylor and administration this week, is worth $6.45 million total over six years. 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. He will also get a one-time payment of $1 million.”

In addition to Taylor’s salary and financial incentives, the perks include a golf course membership, four tickets to Oklahoma State football games, the use of a luxury suite during wrestling duals, up to 12 tickets for duals and up to 12 tickets for postseason tournaments.

It’s no secret Taylor’s been molding the program in his own vision and learning on the fly.

“It’s good, really good,” Taylor told FloWrestling. “Yeah, it’s a new challenge, it’s fun. You know? It’s been great to build relationships with the guys we have on the team and now we’re just trying to get a little better.

“It’s new. So there’s lots of things that you know, just like anything else, like you just ask a lot of questions and I’m learning. I got a great team around me, our administration is amazing. Our coaching staff is amazing, you know, so we just complement each other really well, you know, and everyone has different levels of experience and you know, just figuring it out.”