Scott Frost sues Nebraska over tax liability he never received

Former Nebraska head coach Scott Frost is suing the university and its board of regents over a tax liability he claims he never received. The suit was filed in the District Court of Lancaster County, Nebraska.

Nebraska fired Frost three games into the 2022 season after a 16-31 record at his alma mater. In December 2022, the school told him it planned to “include the present value of its 2025 and
2026 liquidated damages payments” on his W-2 form that year, according to the filing.

Frost argued the move was not correct. In the process, it created a $1.7 million tax liability he did not receive, court documents show. Frost also claims the payments were guaranteed, therefore were not able to be reduced, offset or forfeited. But in the same email in which the school notified Frost it planned to include those values, it said the payments could be adjusted at a later date “without any further explanation.”

Frost is seeking no less than $5 million and that the judge rule the offset provision in his contract expired Dec. 31, 2024. That’s the same day he said his employment would have expired.

Additionally, Frost said his contract did not include a duty to mitigate clause, meaning he did not have to find another job after his departure from Nebraska. He later joined the Los Angeles Rams’ staff as a senior analyst in 2024 and is currently the head coach at UCF.

However, Frost sought “productive dialogue” about confirming either his 2022 reportable income was “grossly overstated,” otherwise his 2025 and 2026 liquidated damages compensation was guaranteed, according to the filing. Frost then said the school was “uncooperative, dismissive and refused to acknowledge or correct the confusion and harm it had caused,” and an IRS audit backed his claims.

“To be clear, following its audit, the Internal Revenue Service agreed with Coach Frost that the University wrongfully accelerated the 2025 and 2026 liquidated damage payments and that such payments were not subject to employment tax,” the filing states. “Stated differently, all of the self-serving and bad faith positions taken by the University were wrong.”

Scott Frost just completed his first season back at UCF, where he worked before returning to Nebraska as head coach. The Knights went 5-7 in 2025, including 2-7 in Big 12 play, as he began his second stint with the program.