Report: Nebraska to pay $1 million buyout for canceling football series with Tennessee

The Nebraska Cornhuskers canceled their home-and-home series set for the 2026-27 seasons with the Tennessee Volunteers on Friday, and it’s going to cost them. Per Brett McMurphy of The Action Network, Nebraska is going to have to pay $1 million for their decision, as the buyout was $500,000 for each game scheduled with Tennessee.

The series, which was set to begin with Nebraska hosting Tennessee in 2026 from Lincoln before a 2027 return date in Knoxville, was canceled at the Cornhuskers’ request, according to ESPN’s Pete Thamel, citing the Huskers’ desire for eight home games in 2027 during planned renovations to Memorial Stadium.

Evidently, it’s a price the Cornhuskers were willing to pay. Tennessee athletic director Danny White made it clear this was a one-sided cancelation on Nebraska’s part, via a “correction” quote tweet of Thamel’s original report.

“Correction: Tennessee is not canceling this series. Nebraska did,” White tweeted Friday morning. “We are very disappointed that they didn’t want to play these games, especially this close to 2026.”

Regardless of the monetary situation, the cancellation is certainly very disappointing, for Tennessee fans and college football fans as a whole. The two historic programs have only played each other three times, with the Volunteers winning their last matchup in the 2016 Music City Bowl.

As for what’s next for the now-open date on Tennessee’s schedule? The Volunteers and their decision-makers will evaluate all of their options, but a home and home series might not be in the cards moving forward.

“We will make the most of it,” Danny White told the media. “If we are playing a neutral site game back in Nashville, Charlotte or Atlanta, I think it will be a great experience for our fans and our players. We are fortunate to have really good partners in those cities that are within driving distance. I’m not saying it’s a bad experience. It will be great if that’s where we are. I know we will have some fans disappointed if we lose a home game in Neyland. 

“Our goal is to try and replace this with another home and home. I just don’t know if that’s possible. It’s going to be a really tall order. As it sits right now, there’s not a single opponent available to do that. We are calling around trying to see if people are open to trying to get out of another game to look at playing us. It’s a lot easier to find someone who can do a one off neutral site than someone who can do two consecutive years and find dates that match up. You typically need 6, 7, 8, 9 years in advance to try and find that kind of arrangement.” 

All told, it’ll be interesting to see what the future holds for Nebraska and Tennessee, but their loyal fanbases will turn out regardless. Still, that’s a big pill to swallow for the Cornhuskers, as they move away from their home-and-home scheduled series with the Volunteers.