COLUMBIA, Mo. 鈥 The University of Missouri has extended football coach Eli Drinkwitz鈥檚 contract, adding one more year to the agreement while keeping his compensation the same.
The agreement, signed in February but announced by the school on Thursday, runs through the 2029 football season and marks a continued commitment by the university to keep its prized coach in Columbia.
The buyout terms remain similar to Drinkwitz鈥檚 previous extension, which came on the heels of the 2023 football season. As part of the new deal, Drinkwitz has a larger salary pool to spend on his assistant coaches, which is expected to come into play soon with an extension for defensive coordinator Corey Batoon, at a minimum.
This is Drinkwitz鈥檚 third extension since he took the Mizzou job ahead of the 2020 season.
His salary for the 2025 season will remain the same: $9 million.
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In 2026, that will bump up to $9.25 million. In 2028, he鈥檒l receive another automatic raise to $9.5 million.
Last season, that figure tied Drinkwitz with Tennessee鈥檚 Josh Heupel and Mississippi鈥檚 Lane Kiffin for the 10th biggest salary in college football.
Should Drinkwitz leave MU between now and December 1, he鈥檇 owe the university a $5 million buyout. That number drops to $4 million before Dec. 1, 2027, then $3 million if he left in 2028.
And should Missouri fire Drinkwitz, it would have to pay out 75% of what鈥檚 left on his contract. At the moment, that would be a bit under $35 million 鈥 though the thought of a program dismissing a coach it just extended is outlandish.
Drinkwitz remains eligible for incentives based on win totals, bowl appearances, making the College Football Playoff and winning various coach of the year honors. He can receive at most $1.575 million in incentives for any season, though he wouldn鈥檛 reach that threshold unless the Tigers win a national title.
Under the terms of his new contract, Drinkwitz will have at least $12 million to spend on the rest of his coaching staff each season, including coordinators, position coaches, strength coaches, analysts, operations staff and executive assistants. Previously, he had $9.8 million to work with.
At Southeastern Conference media days in Atlanta last week, Drinkwitz suggested a contract extension 鈥 which would likely come with a raise 鈥 for defensive coordinator Corey Batoon will be on the way soon.
鈥淚鈥檓 incredibly grateful for the continued belief in our vision for Mizzou football,鈥 Drinkwitz said in a statement. 鈥淭he Board of Curators, President (Mun) Choi, Laird Veatch and our donors and fans have shown a deep commitment to building a championship-caliber program. That means investing in the people throughout our building who work tirelessly for our student-athletes. I鈥檓 proud of the staff we鈥檝e assembled and excited to keep pushing forward together.鈥
鈥淭he consistent progress we鈥檝e seen under Coach Drinkwitz鈥檚 leadership is inspiring,鈥 Veatch said in a statement. 鈥淭his extension, along with increased investment in our coaching and support staff, reflects our commitment to sustaining success at the highest level. It鈥檚 all part of our 鈥榃ill to Win鈥 鈥 a clear statement that we鈥檙e building championship programs.鈥
Drinkwitz was named to the preseason watchlist for the Dodd Trophy, which is awarded at the end of each season to the nation鈥檚 best coach. It鈥檚 his second year in a row making the watchlist.
He is 38-24 through five seasons at Mizzou, which surpassed legendary coach Dan Devine鈥檚 program record for the most wins through the first five seasons of a coach鈥檚 tenure.
MU has won 21 games in the last two seasons.
The Tigers report Sunday for fall camp, with the first practice of the preseason coming Monday.
Missouri football coach Eli Drinkwitz speaks with the media on Thursday, July 17, 2025, during SEC media days in Atlanta. (Courtesy Southeastern Conference)
