Matt Rhule punished players on the Panthers offense for celebrating a touchdown in practice. Dec 19, 2021; Orchard Park, New York, USA; Carolina Panthers head coach Matt Rhule walks off the field following the game against the Buffalo Bills at Highmark Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Rich Barnes-USA TODAY Sports

The Carolina Panthers abruptly fired head coach Matt Rhule five games into the 2022-2023 NFL season. Now, the current Nebraska coach is suing his former employer over what he claims are millions of dollars owed to him.

According to CBS Sports, Rhule filed an arbitration suit last week against the Panthers, claiming that they are refusing to pay his severance compensation. While the suit doesn’t specify how much money he is owed, Rhule’s contract indicates that he would be due around $5 million.

Rhule signed a seven-year deal for more than $60 million in 2020. When he was fired in 2022 after going 11-27 with Carolina, that left a lot of money due. It’s not clear how much he was still due but there was $34 million in base salary remaining on his contract when he was fired.

However, Rhule signed an eight-year contract with Nebraska worth $74 million in base salary in November along with $4 million in deferred salary if he’s still there after a certain point. Per CBS Sports, the Panthers are going to argue that Rhule’s Nebraska deal violates the league’s anti-tampering policy given the parameters of the deferred salary.

According to Section 3, Article D of the anti-tampering policy, “If the contract with the new club includes a substantial salary increase in new contract years, the Commissioner shall use the following as a guideline to determine the reasonableness of those increases: (i) if annual compensations is scheduled to increase by 20 percent or more for the new contract years, the prior club’s annual offset, if that club is entitled to an offset, shall be calculated based upon the employee’s average annual compensation during the entire term of contract.”

The Matt Rhule Era was a big disappointment for the Carolina Panthers and it looks like they’ll be dealing with the fallout for some time to come.

[CBS Sports]

About Sean Keeley

Along with writing for Awful Announcing and The Comeback, Sean is the Editorial Strategy Director for Comeback Media. Previously, he created the Syracuse blog Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician and wrote 'How To Grow An Orange: The Right Way to Brainwash Your Child Into Rooting for Syracuse.' He has also written non-Syracuse-related things for SB Nation, Curbed, and other outlets. He currently lives in Seattle where he is complaining about bagels. Send tips/comments/complaints to sean@thecomeback.com.