Eleven Warriors - A Buckeye Sports Blog

Matta’s dog has plans for the extra cash

The raise Buckeye basketball coach Thad Matta recently received not only has the coach’s pets pumped up, but it allows us to make a good guess at the value of a blockbuster recruiting class. Oden, Conley and Cook may have taken their game to the NBA, but the guy that recruited them is still reaping the rewards.

The meat of the raise came in the form of a bump in earnings for "media, promotions and public relations" from $380,000 to $830,000, while Matta’s base salary was increased $100,000 to $475,000. His total compensation now sits in the $2.4 million range.

Matta’s contract was also extended through 2016 by virtue of winning the Big Ten regular season championship and he was given 5 more hours of private jet use, going from 10 to 15.

So there you have it. One stud recruiting class is worth about $550,000 more in cash, another year on the contract and 5 more hours in the jet. No bad at all.

Matta was already one of the better compensated coaches in college basketball and the $2.4 million he’ll be earning taken together with Tressel’s $2.6 million may seem like a lot, but compared to the $6.75 million that Florida is shelling out for Billy Donovan and Urban Meyer, it’s a steal. Assuming that is, one of them gets over the top against the Gators soon.