Nebraska football has pulled off what might be the most important move of the 2025 season. Matt Rhule, the Cornhuskers’ third-year head coach, has reportedly signed a contract extension that keeps him in Lincoln beyond 2030, according to sources with knowledge of the situation.
An official announcement is expected Today, per the report from Sports Illustrated. Since James Franklin was fired on Oct. 12, Rhule’s name had been circling the Penn State opening like a hawk over its prey.
He played linebacker at Penn State, walked on there, grew up in State College. Rhule called current Penn State Athletics Director Pat Kraft “one of my best friends” and a “great AD”, and the two worked together when Kraft hired Rhule at Temple back in 2012.
The connection was real, not manufactured by message boards. But Nebraska wasn’t going to sit around and find out what happens when your head coach becomes the hottest name for a job at his alma mater.
Athletic director Troy Dannen got to work, and the result is a multi-year extension that accomplishes two things at once. It keeps Rhule from entertaining thoughts about Happy Valley, and just as important, it sends a message to the roster that the man rebuilding this program isn’t going anywhere.
The Huskers are 6-2 this season, bowl eligible for the second straight year after missing the postseason for eight back-to-back seasons before Rhule arrived. He was set to make $7.5 million this season, with escalators taking it from $8.5 million in 2026 to $12.5 million in 2030. The new deal will come with a raise, though specifics haven’t been released yet, as reported by sources.
Nebraska’s Extension Protects More Than Just the Head Coach
If Rhule went to Penn State, no one knows what would have happened to the Huskers’ roster. Or star sophomore quarterback Dylan Raiola. That’s the real story here. Raiola, a five-star recruit signed with Nebraska in Dec 2023, has started every game since arriving in Lincoln. His recruitment was complicated.
He first committed to Ohio State in May, 2022, changed his mind and committed to Georgia, his home-state school, in May, 2023. His father is a former Nebraska All-America center, and his uncle serves as the current offensive line coach for the Cornhuskers. Even with those family ties to the program, there’s no guarantee Raiola stays if Rhule leaves.
BREAKING: #Nebraska Head Coach Matt Rhule has signed an extension with the Huskers keeping him beyond 2030.
An announcement is expected on Thursday. #GBR
Via @Huskermax pic.twitter.com/Ad84UOUMis
— 247Huskers (@247Huskers) October 30, 2025
Rhule addressed the Penn State speculation indirectly when he appeared on The Pat McAfee Show, saying Nebraska isn’t a jumping-off job. The day after Franklin was fired at Penn State, Rhule was asked about the open job. In an early answer, he spoke about what Nebraska could do moving forward.
He talked about investing in the program, about not worrying so much about optics, about competing with rosters that cost $30 or $40 million. He said he wanted Nebraska to be at the front of everything, to be one of the best teams in the country on a regular basis.
The extension keeps Rhule from having to navigate questions about his future every week for the rest of the season. Most of all, it keeps Raiola and the rest of this roster from looking at the transfer portal as a backup plan.
