At his introductory press conference on Monday, new Nebraska head coach Matt Rhule said he's making the same amount of money coaching the Cornhuskers as he would on a self-guided tour of Charlotte's best golf courses. This is true -- in the short term.
The Carolina Panthers owed Rhule roughly $34 million, which was offset by the first $34 million Nebraska will pay. But Rhule is going to make more than $34 million.
AD Trev Alberts said Monday that Rhule's 8-year contract will pay him $74 million, with 90 percent (roughly $66.6 million) guaranteed.
Beyond the total figure, we now know how much Rhule will make per year. He'll start at a modest $5.5 million for the 2023 campaign, but top out at $12.5 million for the 2030 season.
Alberts stated that Rhule will have a salary pool starting at $7 million. Scott Frost had $4.6 million to pay his 10 assistants; $7 million would place Nebraska between LSU and Ohio State, according to the 2022 numbers. The coach-side buyout starts at $7 million, then declines by $1 million a year through 2026. It holds at $3.5 million from 2027-29, then finishes at $2 million in 2030.
Deal also inlcudes
— Steve Berkowitz (@ByBerkowitz) November 28, 2022
--4 separate $1 million deferred payments that have vesting dates in 2025, 2027, 2029 and 2030
--Bonuses starting at $150K for any bowl game
--$7 million budget for 10 assistant coaches https://t.co/jtgZRqfJUN
In a related story, in August the Big Ten signed a "groundbreaking" series of TV contracts with Fox, CBS and NBC worth in excess of $8 billion in total.
As always, stay tuned to The Scoop for the latest.