The Oklahoma Sooners have instituted some massive budget cuts during the coronavirus pandemic.
According to Brett McMurphy, the school is cutting $13.7 million from the athletic department’s budget, and everyone making an annual salary north of $1 million is also taking a 10% cut. (RELATED: David Hookstead Is The True King In The North When It Comes To College Football)
That means head football coach Lincoln Riley, who made nearly $6.4 million in 2019, is taking a 10% pay cut.
Oklahoma’s athletic department announces budget cuts of approximately $13.7 million for 2020-21 fiscal year, including 10% salary reduction for all employees earning a salary of $1 million or more per year such as Lincoln Riley
— Brett McMurphy (@Brett_McMurphy) July 2, 2020
I honestly didn’t expect Oklahoma to be a position where the Sooners needed to cut nearly $14 million from the budget.
Riley taking a 10% cut isn’t ideal, but it’s not shocking a ton of coaches across America have taken pay cuts during the pandemic.
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However, the $13.7 million cut to the athletic department as a whole is pretty stunning in my opinion. Oklahoma is one of the biggest athletic departments in America.
Plus, the Sooners have a powerhouse football program. There should be more than enough money in the reserves to make it through the coronavirus pandemic.
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Apparently that’s not the case, because they just dropped the hammer on the budget. There’s no way that would have happened to the extent it did if there were other options on the table.
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This is just the latest reminder of how badly coronavirus has impacted sports. It’s truly staggering the amount of damage that has been done.