Ohio State has secured the future of one of its most critical support staffers.
General manager Mark Pantoni has come to terms on a new contract with the Buckeyes, a source confirmed to Eleven Warriors. The deal will make him one of the highest-paid GMs in college football, per On3.
Now in his 14th season at Ohio State, Pantoni has been the architect of 247Sports composite top-10 recruiting classes each of those years except for 2019, when the Buckeyes were transitioning from Urban Meyer to Ryan Day.
Pantoni also oversees the program's administrative efforts in the transfer portal. Ohio State assembled one of college football's greatest portal classes ever in 2024 with unanimous All-American safety Caleb Downs, Rimington Trophy-winning center Seth McLaughlin, star quarterback Will Howard and star running back Quinshon Judkins among the acquistions.
"I have to recognize Mark Pantoni and the work he does," Ryan Day said on Feb. 7. "He's really adapted. His job has changed so much in the past couple of years. He's killing it right now. He and his staff deserve a huge shoutout here because of some of the work that has been done over the past couple of months."
The full details of Pantoni's new contract are yet to be revealed, but it is a multi-year deal. The highest-paid general manager in college football is reportedly North Carolina's Michael Lombardi with a salary of $1.5 million.
