Indianapolis, IN
How much is Purdue paying new football coach Barry Odom?
New Purdue football coach Barry Odom will soon be paid more than any Boilermakers coach before him.
Odom agreed to a six-year deal worth at least $39 million, per a memorandum of understanding the school released Tuesday. Coaches are typically eligible for performance and academic bonuses which could increase that value. Odom’s base salary for his first two seasons is $6 million per, then rises $250,000 each year for years 3 and 4, before going to $7 million in year 5 and $7.25 million in the final year of the deal.
Also not yet available is the assistant coach salary pool which Odom will use to assemble his first staff. Previous coach Ryan Walters was contractually entitled to up to $5.5 million for 10 assistants and one strength and conditioning coach.
Purdue must also pay the $3 million buyout Odom owes UNLV for backing out of the contract extension he signed earlier this year.
Odom becomes the highest-paid coach on campus, surpassing Matt Painter’s guarantee of $4.85 million for 2024-25. Former football coach Jeff Brohm, whose departure to Louisville in December 2022 prompted Purdue to hire Walters, was paid $5.1 million for his final season. He was due to make $5.4 million in 2025.
Odom signed a five-year contract extension with UNLV last spring following his breakthrough first season. That guaranteed him at least $1.75 million for the 2024 season, increasing to at least $2.4 million for 2028. He was also due his first of three potential retention bonuses of $200,000 in March 2026.
UNLV athletic director Erick Harper said earlier this week he wanted to make a competitive counter-offer to retain Odom, but could not.
“That’s a hard number to reach,” Harper said Sunday, without disclosing the amount, “but we did look at it in full detail. The Big Ten’s — they’ve got a big, deep pocket.”
Walters, a first-time head coach, agreed to a five-year deal to become Purdue’s coach prior to the 2023 season. He made $4.05 million for this past season, and was scheduled for a $50,000 increase in each of the next three seasons. Per his contract, Purdue must pay him 75% of his salary to buy out those remaining three years — $9.3375 million — plus $253,125 for the current month.
Walters’ 2024 salary ranked 16th out of 17 Big Ten public schools, per the USA Today coaching salary database. (Information on Northwestern is unavailable.) Odom’s new salary would have ranked 15th.
However, Purdue’s head coach salary has since been surpassed for 2025 by IU’s Curt Cignetti. Originally hired on a $4.25 million annual deal, Cignetti received a contract extension with an average annual value of $8 million for leading the Hoosiers to double-digit victories and the College Football Playoff. Cignetti’s new contract stipulates $11 million per year for “on-field staff salary and support pool.”
Purdue administrators surely hope Odom’s success also forces them to revisit this initial deal one year from now.
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — This Memorial Day, you can honor United States service members who made the ultimate sacrifice. Crown Hill National Cemetery is hosting a service at 11 a.m. on Monday.
In a Facebook post, the Indiana Department of Veterans Affairs said, “Never forgotten. Always remembered,” encouraging people to attend the ceremony. Crown Hill is the final resting place for nearly 1,000 veterans and eligible dependents.
According to Crown Hill, the keynote speaker will be Michael Hershman, the director of Veteran Health Indiana. Music will be provided by the 38th Infantry Division Band, Indiana National Guard, and the Indiana National Guard Ceremonial Unit will provide military honors.
The service will be in the open area adjacent to the Crown Hill Columbarium Annex.
Parking Information
Guests displaying a valid disability license plate or placard may enter the cemetery’s main gate for on-site parking.
General parking will be available at Butler University Lot 45 (near the intersection of West 42nd Street and Haughey Avenue), with shuttle service provided to and from the grounds of Crown Hill National Cemetery.
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — A man and a woman died Sunday night when their motorcycle collided with a small SUV, police say.
The names and ages of the two who died were not immediately available, an Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department Capt. Don Weilhammer said from the crash scene.
IMPD was called to the collision just after 9:20 p.m. Sunday in the 7500 block of North Keystone Avenue. That’s just south of the White River bridge.
Investigators think the SUV was southbound and had a green light as it turned east toward 75th Street. That’s when the northbound motorcycle hit the SUV near its rear passenger door.
A witness at a nearby Walmart told IMPD that the motorcycle had passed the shopping area, which is south of the intersection, at a high rate of speed.
The driver and passenger of the motorcycle died at the crash scene.
A man and a woman were in the SUV. The man in the SUV received minor injuries, and the woman was unhurt. They remained at the scene. The IMPD captain said no one in the SUV was intoxicated. Their names were not immediately shared publicly.
No one witnessed the crash, the captain said. IMPD’s Kevin Winks was seeking anyone with information or video footage to contact the officer at 317-327-6549.
INDIANAPOLIS — The man helping lead one of Indianapolis’ biggest race weekend traditions still had to pay 10 bucks to park.
As downtown filled Saturday morning for the 70th annual Lucas Oil 500 Festival Parade ahead of the 110th running of the Indianapolis 500, Pascal Siakam pulled up to a parking lot expecting a little Grand Marshal treatment.
Instead, the four-time NBA All-Star found himself in a friendly standoff with a vendor charging $10 for parking.
In a video posted to his social media accounts, the Pacers forward laughed as he rolled into the lot.
“I ain’t trying to pay for real,” Siakam joked from the car. “I ain’t even got 10 bucks.”
When Siakam rolled down his window to face the vendor he asked half-jokingly, “The Grand Marshal don’t get to park for free?”
The woman wasn’t buying it.
“You’re not the Grand Marshal,” she told him. “Caitlin Clark is.”
Siakam, alongside teammate Andrew Nembhard, served as co-Grand Marshal for this year’s parade. Clark, of course, was named Grand Marshal for Sunday’s race festivities — not the parade itself.
Even after Siakam explained the mix-up, the vendor still wasn’t convinced. The video shows her eventually looking it up herself before realizing the 6-foot-8 Pacers star was telling the truth the entire time.
Still, no special treatment
After all the back-and-forth, Siakam paid the $10 anyway.
The exchange quickly became a humorously relatable race weekend moment — even basketball royalty isn’t safe from negotiating for parking in downtown Indianapolis.
Saturday’s parade wound through downtown as one of the city’s signature traditions leading into race day, featuring marching bands, floats, giant balloons, celebrities and all 33 IndyCar drivers competing in Sunday’s Indy 500.
Jessica Garcete is an IndyStar sports reporter. Get IndyStar’s motor sports coverage sent directly to your inbox with our Motor Sports newsletter. Subscribe to theYouTube channel IndyStar TV: IndyCar for a behind-the-scenes look at IndyCar and expert analysis.
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