Kelly inks contract extension at UCLA through '27

UCLA coach Chip Kelly has signed a contract extension through the 2027 season, the school announced Friday.

UCLA finished 9-4 last season with a 37-35 loss to Pittsburgh in the Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl, but his winning percentage has increased in each of his five seasons. Last season was the first time since 2014 that the No. 21 Bruins were ranked in the final AP Top 25 and AFCA Coaches polls.

“I am excited about our football program under the leadership of Coach Kelly and his talented staff,” UCLA athletic director Martin Jarmond said in a prepared statement. “The football program is on an upward trajectory, both on the field and in the classroom. Coach Kelly and his staff have done a tremendous job developing young men as demonstrated by their academic excellence.”

According to the Los Angeles Times, the two-year extension ensures Kelly will make $6.1 million during the 2023 and 2024 seasons before getting bumped up to $6.2 million per season in 2025, 2026 and 2027. Kelly’s buyout, according to the Times, is $8.5 million if he’s dismissed before December 2023 and $4.27 million if he is fired before December 2024. The university wouldn’t owe him anything in December 2025.

Kelly would owe the school $3 million if he left before the end of this season and $1.5 million if he left before the end of the 2025 season, according to the Times.

Led by quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson and running back Zach Charbonnet, the 2022 team became the school’s first to average more than 500 yards of total offense. It finished fourth in the nation at 503.6. UCLA was the only FBS team with 3,463 passing yards and 3,084 rushing yards.

The Bruins averaged 237.2 rushing yards per game, ranking sixth nationally and first in the Pac-12. Charbonnet averaged a conference-best 135.9 rushing yards and an FBS-leading 168.0 all-purpose yards.

In a school-record 48 starts at quarterback, Thompson-Robinson set career records for completions (860), touchdown passes (88), total touchdowns (116), passing yards (10,710), quarterback rushing yards (1,826) and total offense (12,536 yards).

Defensively, the Bruins held teams to 130.3 rushing yards per game. Edge rusher Laiatu Latu, who was named a College Football Comeback Player of the Year Award winner in his first year since transferring from Washington, had 10.5 sacks and three forced fumbles.