New Purdue football coach Barry Odom will soon be paid more than any Boilermakers coach before him.
Odom agreed to a six-year deal worth at least $39 million, per a summary of key elements the school released Tuesday. Odom’s base salary for his first two seasons is $6 million per, then rises $250,000 each year for years 3 and 4, before going to $7 million in year 5 and $7.25 million in the final year of the deal.
Odom will also be eligible for up to $1.5 million in “academic, pefromance and personal incentive pay opportunities.” Those bonuses are contingent upon maintaining an APR of 990 or above.
Purdue athletic director Mike Bobinski said Odom’s contract will not specify a total for the assistant coach salary pool, saying, “We’re committed to doing what’s needed.” Previous coach Ryan Walters was contractually entitled to up to $5.5 million for 10 assistants and one strength and conditioning coach.
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Purdue must also pay the $3 million buyout Odom owes UNLV for backing out of the contract extension he signed earlier this year.
Purdue would owe Odom 75% of his remaining base salary if firing him without cause. For instance, if fired on Dec. 1 after his second season as Walters was, he would be owed $20.625 million. That number drops to $15.95 million on Dec. 1, 2027; $11.1 million on Dec. 1, 2028; and $5.89 million on Dec. 1, 2029.
If Odom leaves for another job through Dec. 31, 2025, he would owe Purdue $6 million. That buyout decreases by $1 million for each of the next three years. It drops to $2.5 million on Jan. 1, 2029, and $2 million on Jan. 1, 2030.
Odom becomes the highest-paid coach on campus, surpassing Matt Painter’s guarantee of $4.85 million for 2024-25. Former football coach Jeff Brohm, whose departure to Louisville in December 2022 prompted Purdue to hire Walters, was paid $5.1 million for his final season. He was due to make $5.4 million in 2025.
Odom signed a five-year contract extension with UNLV last spring following his breakthrough first season. That guaranteed him at least $1.75 million for the 2024 season, increasing to at least $2.4 million for 2028. He was also due his first of three potential retention bonuses of $200,000 in March 2026.
UNLV athletic director Erick Harper said earlier this week he wanted to make a competitive counter-offer to retain Odom, but could not.
“That’s a hard number to reach,” Harper said Sunday, without disclosing the amount, “but we did look at it in full detail. The Big Ten’s — they’ve got a big, deep pocket.”
Walters, a first-time head coach, agreed to a five-year deal to become Purdue’s coach prior to the 2023 season. He made $4.05 million for this past season, and was scheduled for a $50,000 increase in each of the next three seasons. Per his contract, Purdue must pay him 75% of his salary to buy out those remaining three years — $9.3375 million — plus $253,125 for the current month.
Walters’ 2024 salary ranked 16th out of 17 Big Ten public schools, per the USA Today coaching salary database. (Information on Northwestern is unavailable.) Odom’s new salary would have ranked 14th.
However, Purdue’s head coach salary has since been surpassed for 2025 by IU’s Curt Cignetti. Originally hired on a $4.25 million annual deal, Cignetti received a contract extension with an average annual value of $8 million for leading the Hoosiers to double-digit victories and the College Football Playoff. Cignetti’s new contract stipulates $11 million per year for “on-field staff salary and support pool.”
Purdue administrators surely hope Odom’s success also forces them to revisit this initial deal one year from now.
