Tressel agrees to new seven-year deal with Ohio State

[Arch Stanton]

Tressel agrees to new seven-year deal with Ohio State

Associated Press


COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Ohio State coach Jim Tressel will be paid almost $2.4 million this season as part of a new seven-year contract.

Tressel has yet to sign the contract, Ohio State spokesman Steve Snapp said Thursday. Snapp said the sixth-year coach and Ohio State officials have agreed in principle to the deal.

The contract is retroactive to Feb. 1, 2006, and runs through Jan. 13, 2013. Tressel will receive almost $1.9 million in salary this season, in addition to a $500,000 signing bonus. In the final year of the contract, Tressel will be paid $2.7 million.

"Jim Tressel is one of the finest football coaches in the country and we felt it was important to get him near the top nationally in terms of compensation," athletic director Gene Smith said.

Under his previous contract, set to expire after the 2008 season, Tressel would have been paid around $1.8 million this season.

In his five years with the Buckeyes, Tressel is 50-13 and his teams have shared two Big Ten titles and won the 2002 national championship. Ohio State is 4-1 in bowl games and 4-1 against rival Michigan under Tressel.