Reacting to Eli Drinkwitz' Contract Extension: The Extra Point

Quick thoughts on the new contract of Missouri's head football coach.

Oct 7, 2023; Columbia, Missouri, USA; Missouri Tigers head coach Eli Drinkwitz on field against the LSU Tigers prior to a game at Faurot Field at Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-Imagn Images | Denny Medley-Imagn Images

Missouri on SI football reporter Michael Stamps gives three initial thoughts quickly after Missouri's head coach received a contract extension.

Welcome to Missouri Tigers On SI's "Extra Point," a video series featuring the site's Missouri beat writers. Multiple times a week, the writers provide analysis on a topic concerning the Tigers or the landscape of college sports.

Missouri head coach Eli Drinkwitz has received a new contract extension through the 2029 season. His contract initially led him through the 2028 season, so he now has another season on top of that.

This isn't a surprising move by any means, especially with the winning ways he's brought to Columbia over the last two years. He remains in the top half of the highest-paid coaches in the conference and rightfully so.

Here are some quick thoughts on Drinkwitz' contract extension.

1. It's good

It's hard to complain about this extension. It's not super significant by any means, but Drinkwitz has done plenty as Missouri's head coach since arriving in 2020 to justify more years there.

His extension only adds one year to the deal and there could be more to come, along with more money. The money hasn't changed in this deal, but there's no reason it can't in the future.

2. Increased assistant coach funds

One interesting caveat of this extension is that there is an increased pool of funds for Missouri's assistant coaches and support staff. The Tigers have plenty of positional coaches who make the team what it is, which also validates this decision.

At SEC Media Days last week, Drinkwitz alluded to the fact that defensive coordinator Corey Batoon could receive a extension soon. This is proof of that.

3. Drinkwitz' money

This could be a misconception about the extension. Drinkwitz isn't making any more money than he was previously. He's making 9-million a year and is the seventh-highest paid coach in the conference.

This isn't to say that they don't want to give him anymore money than he's already making, it's just not in the cards at the moment. Based on his previous success over the last few seasons as Missouri's head coach, that could be something that happens soon.