Ohio State athletic director Ross Bjork earned $240,000 in bonus money during the last academic year, just shy of the maximum allowed under his contract, according to a breakdown provided by the school in response to a public records request from The Dispatch.
The incentives pushed Bjork’s compensation package to $2.3 million during his second year leading the university’s athletic department.
Academic achievements accounted for the majority of Bjork’s bonus pay in 2025-26. His largest bonus of $100,000 was tied to Ohio State’s varsity teams’ 3.4 GPA for the fall and spring semesters, while he picked up $50,000 for a 96% job placement rate among the athletes.
Bjork also collected $50,000 for the Buckeyes’ 10th-place finish in the Directors’ Cup,
which measures athletic department success across 19 sports.
His other bonuses included $15,000 each for NCAA tournament appearances by the men’s and women's basketball teams and $10,000 for the pistol team’s sixth consecutive national championship.
None of the incentive pay stemmed from football. Though the Buckeyes reached the College Football Playoff quarterfinals in December, Bjork is eligible only for bonuses in the sport if they advance to the semifinals or final or win the Big Ten.
A year earlier, he received $50,000 when the Buckeyes reached the national championship game as part of their title run through the inaugural 12-team playoff. It added to his bonus total of $250,000, the maximum allowed, during the 2024-25 academic year.
Bjork took over as Ohio State's athletic director in the summer of 2024 upon the retirement of Gene Smith, who spent nearly two decades at the helm of the department.
Joey Kaufman covers Ohio State football for The Columbus Dispatch. Email him at jkaufman@dispatch.com and follow him on @joeyrkaufman on X.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Ohio State athletic director Ross Bjork earns $240,000 in bonuses in 2025-26
