Kansas State football coach Chris Klieman is finalizing a $44 million contract extension that would keep him with the Wildcats through the 2030 season, ESPN and the Wichita Eagle reported on Sunday.

Klieman, who has a 30-20 record in four seasons with the Wildcats after taking over from Bill Snyder, would earn an average of $5.5 million per year, with the deal taking effect on July 1. Klieman’s current contract ends after the 2026 season, and the average pay raise would come out to almost $1.5 million per year.

Klieman is coming off a season in which he led Kansas State to its first Big 12 championship since 2012. The Wildcats finished the year 10-4, highlighted by an overtime victory over TCU in the Big 12 title game before falling to Alabama in the Sugar Bowl.

The Wildcats have won at least eight games in every full season since Klieman took over (they went 4-6 during the pandemic-shortened 2020 season) and they finished last year ranked No. 14 after their 45-20 Sugar Bowl loss to Alabama. Klieman owns the best first-four-season record of any coach in Kansas State history.

Klieman came to the Wildcats after a five-year stint as head coach of North Dakota State, where he directed the Bisons to four FCS national championships and a 69-6 record.

–Field Level Media