Curt Cignetti kinda owes Nebraska football a thank you. It was when the Indiana Hoosiers thoroughly embarrassed the Huskers this season that people really started believing his team was for real.
They’ve only kept winning since that game, cementing the belief that the first-year coach will almost surely have his team in the 12-team College Football Playoff field. And on Saturday morning, the Hoosiers did what they could to cement that he’ll lead the program for the foreseeable future.
Cignetti got a massive raise as part of the promise that he’ll be in Bloomington for the next eight years. His base salary, according to several reports, will now be $8 million per year. According to USA Today’s list of coaches’ salaries, that will make him the 16th highest paid coach in the country. It makes him the fifth highest paid coach in the Big Ten. And it jumps him past Nebraska football coach Matt Rhule, at least for now.
Nebraska football rival coach Curt Cignetti sees big payday
Cignetti wasn’t exactly making chump change to start the year, as he signed a deal that saw him make $4.25 million annually. While not a tiny sum, it had him 15th in the Big Ten. So yes, after a 10-0 start to his first season with IU, he was woefully underpaid.
Cignetti is no longer hilariously underpaid. We’ll see by just how much as the rest of the season plays out.
For the Nebraska football head coach, assuming their contracts stay the same, Rhule will eventually jump back ahead of Cignett in terms of salary in a few seasons. This year, he’s making $6.5 million, will make $7.5 million next season, and $8.5 million by the end of 2026. In 2027, Rhule’s salary will jump to $10 million. Here’s hoping he earns it.