Missouri coach Eli Drinkwitz got another contract extension.
Just months after signing an extension with the school that made him one of the highest-paid coaches in the country, Drinkwitz’s contract has been redone again just days before the end of the 2025 regular season. According to ESPN, Drinkwitz’s new deal ups his salary to an average of $10.7 million per season.
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Missouri’s Board of Curators met on Wednesday afternoon to finalize the terms of Drinkwitz’s new deal. Thursday morning, he made it official.
Drinkwitz has been considered a candidate at Florida, LSU and Penn State. But with Lane Kiffin’s decision to choose among staying at Ole Miss or heading to either Florida or LSU still hanging in the balance, Drinkwitz is re-upping with Mizzou.
In July, Missouri announced that it had extended Drinkwitz’s contract through the 2029 season. That extension came after Drinkwitz signed an extension through 2028 at the end of the 2023 season. According to USA Today’s salary database, Drinkwitz’s 2025 salary of $9 million was tied for 10th among all coaches and was tied with fellow SEC coaches Kiffin, Josh Heupel and Mark Stoops.
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Only Georgia’s Kirby Smart, Texas’ Steve Sarkisian, Alabama’s Kalen DeBoer and former LSU coach Brian Kelly had higher salaries this season. No matter what Kiffin does, he’s expected to make even more money on his new deal than Drinkwitz and potentially become the highest-paid coach in the country alongside Smart.
The Tigers won 21 games across the 2023 and 2024 seasons and still have a chance at a nine-win season in 2025 with a victory over Arkansas on Saturday and a win in a bowl game. Mizzou is 7-4 this season and 0-4 against ranked opponents with losses to Alabama, Vanderbilt, Texas A&M and Oklahoma. QB Beau Pribula was injured in the loss to Vanderbilt and freshman Matt Zollers — the team’s No. 3 QB at the start of the season — started against the Aggies before Pribula returned in Missouri’s 17-6 loss to the Sooners in Week 13.
The run of winning seasons has come after Mizzou went .500 in each of the first three regular seasons of Drinkwitz’s tenure. Overall, the Tigers are 45-28 in his tenure.
With Drinkwitz off the board, one or both of Florida and LSU will probably have to look outside the SEC for its new coach. Ole Miss has previously said that an announcement on Kiffin’s future would happen on Saturday after the Rebels visit Mississippi State on Friday. Once Kiffin makes his announcement, the coaching carousel is expected to accelerate quickly.
