Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops is poised to join the $5 million club with a contract extension that will be reviewed by OU's board of regents Wednesday.
Coming off an upset win over Alabama in the Sugar Bowl, and offseason interest from the NFL, the time was right for Oklahoma to protect its interest in one of college football's most successful coaches. According to cbssports.com, the deal could possibly make Stoops the second-highest paid coach in the game, behind Alabama's Nick Saban.
Details of the buyout that would be required for Stoops to exit the new contract early are unclear, but given OU's long-term investment, it would likely be sizeable. Cost-prohibitive, in fact, for a lot of college programs, but not as much of an issue for an NFL club.
Last year, Stoops was the nation's fifth-highest paid coach at $4.74 million per year, according to USA Today. Stoops has posted a stellar 99-24 record in Big 12 play, with eight conference championships, since taking over the OU program in 1999.
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