Kenny Gajewski Signs Five-Year Contract Extension with Oklahoma State

Worry not, Oklahoma State softball fans. Kenny Gajewski is here to stay. Gajewski signed a deal at the end of last season that’ll keep him in Stillwater for at least five more seasons.

“I go to bed each night knowing I’m a softball coach,” Gajewski told PFB on Monday morning. “I wake up each day, going, ‘I can’t believe they pay me to coach this. I love it here. I love my job. I love this program, I love this school, I love this town. It’s a place I wanna be for a long time. I’d like to finish here.”

The contract was commenced July 1 and is effective until June 30, 2022. It’s broken into two segments: Talent and Personal Services, and Employment.

Employment

This is simple. His annual rate will be $120,000 per year, prorated for possible partial years, with no increases according to the contract.

Talent and personal services

This is a little trickier. For the second part of his contract, Gajewski is required to make appearances for the purpose of acting as a spokesperson and promoting the goodwill of the university, among other items.

Along with his obligation to participate in radio and television programs pertaining to OSU’s athletic department, Gajewski is also required to be present for photography sessions with advertisers.

Below is a breakdown of Gajewski’s Talent and Personal Services contract. His original contract was a three-year deal, so these are the figures pertaining to the four years following the 2018 season. He will be paid $47,500 for Talent and Personal Services in 2017-18.

Total

Here is the breakdown of his full salary.

• 2017-18: $167,500
• 2018-19: $175,875
• 2019-20: $184,669
• 2020-21: $193,902
• 2021-22: $203,597

That’s a total of just over $925,000 for the five-year contract.

Gajewski has been instrumental in the Cowgirls’ improvement during the past few seasons. I highlighted this in my 5 Predictions for 2018, but here’s how the Cowgirls have performed under Gajewski during the past couple of seasons.

• 21-31 in 2015 under Rich Wieligman
• 32-26 in 2016 (Gajewski’s first year)
• 38-25 in 2017 (Gajewski’s second year)

A former assistant at Florida with championship experience, Gajewski is looking to elevate the Cowgirls to the level he once experienced. With marked improvement in each of his first two years in Stillwater, there’s no reason to believe the upward trajectory will stop.