Brent Venables Reveals Emotional Reason for Pay Cut After Earning $27M as Oklahoma HC

The Oklahoma Sooners’ season is still full of questions. National college football writer Paul Myerberg has placed him on the hot seat alongside Arkansas’ Sam Pittman and Auburn’s Hugh Freeze. Yet beyond pressure, Venables is making a gesture that speaks volumes. He took a pay cut. Venables joins the other group featuring Brian Kelly and Mike Norvell. On August 29, On3 tweeted, “NEW: Oklahoma head coach Brent Venables is taking a $1 million pay cut this season, per @ByBerkowitz. The money will go to revenue sharing.” Looks like this is one part of their looming narrative. 

Hot seat, sacrifice is just one side of the story. On the other side, Venables’ Sooners come up with interesting trajectories for their 2025 run. While they might see a silver lining in the playoff race, Venables and co.’s luck now depends on John Mateer after breaking up with Jackson Arnold. But for now, what made the head coach give away such a fat amount?   

On August 30, Venables faced the media after handing a heroic 35-3 defeat to the Illinois State Redbirds. And obviously, he was asked to share his take on the thoughts that propelled him to make such a grand sacrifice. Keeping it humble, Venables replied, “I did it because I think it was the right thing to do. And I’ve lived a very famous career, way more than what I deserve. I want to help Oklahoma be a winner. So everybody can play a role in that. And so Julie and I spoke over several days on what that might look like. So we worked it out with the administration. And we just think it’s right.”

Considering the pay cut, Venables’ current contract will be $7.55 million this year. After the House vs NCAA settlement, schools can now directly share up to $20.5 million with their athletes. This must have tickled the giver persona within Venables. The head coach continued,  “You know, the players deserve that. This is that. Everything’s different than what it was 5, 10, 15 years ago. And so it’s a very small gesture…It’s not one-sided. It’s all of us together. If we’re going to be successful, it’s going to be the whole program. Our fans, our fan base, who are just amazing. Our administration, our players.”

When it comes to his salary, the Oklahoma program has opened its fortune reserve for Venables. Back in 2022, in his first year as the head coach, he $7,000,000, which underwent a hike in the next year, making it $7,100,000 in 2023. Last season, Venables drew $7,225,000, but including other compensation, it was reportedly $8,152,000. 

For the 2025 season, he was entitled to $7,625,000. However, after his voluntary $1,000,000 pay cut to fund roster revenue sharing, it’s reduced to $6,625,000. So, he has already hit the $27 million figure. No matter how Venables proves himself to have a big heart, they will still be judged by their gridiron antics. Can the Sooners come back with a turnaround after their 6-7 mishap?

Brent Venables can relax a bit, thanks to John Mateer

The pressure on Mateer was enormous. After all, Venables’ 2024 quarterback picture was a clear mess. Thanks to Arnold, who was sacked 34 times last season. But Mateer showed potential for a turnaround. After all, he did something that is rare for a quarterback. Against Utah State, Venables’ quarterback plowed through a 265-pound defensive lineman. Plus, his USP lies in operating best in chaos outside the pocket.

With this, he has already made Chris Doering into his biggest fan. On the SEC ESPN Network podcast, the former second-team All-American and Florida player shared, “I’m high on him for a number of different reasons. This guy’s got amazing athletic ability. He’s comfortable in the offense; he has already been running at Washington State with Ben Arbuckle, as the two come over to Norman together. But I look at his arm strength and the ability to move outside of the pocket and make plays when things break down.” Turns out that Mateer did not put Doering or Venables down in his debut feat. Against Illinois State, Mateer was everything anyone could have hoped for.

Brent Venables’ quarterback completed 30 of 37 passes for 392 yards with one interception. And with this, a history has been made. Venables’ quarterback produced the highest passing yardage total in a Sooner quarterback debut. Does that mean On3’s J.D.PicKell’s prediction is likely to come true? Back in May, on his podcast, the analyst said,  “I do think that in October-November, with how brutal their schedule is, they’re going to ruin it for somebody.” October and November may be far off, but for now, the Sooners can savor their opener and charge into the season ahead. 

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