LSU football’s Brian Kelly experiment may be coming to an end sooner rather than later. After Saturday’s loss to Vanderbilt — the first time in 35 years that the Commodores had beaten the Tigers — a growing section of the LSU fan base is already calling for Kelly to be fired.
But how much would that cost the university? After all, LSU paid Les Miles a few million and Ed Orgeron $17 million when they fired the national championship-winning coaches in 2016 and 2021, respectively. However, ousting Kelly would be far more expensive.
Kelly signed a 10-year, $95 million contract with LSU back in November 2021. So far, he has earned more than $30 million of that deal, although some fans argue he hasn’t truly earned any of it. If Kelly is fired following this season, he will be owed 90% of the $58.2 million remaining on his contract. That amounts to a $52.38 million buyout, which surpasses James Franklin’s at Penn State as the second-largest buyout in college football history. Only Texas A&M’s payment of more than $76 million to fire Jimbo Fisher was costlier.
Per the buyout clause in his contract, Kelly would receive payments in “equal monthly installments” over the remainder of the contract term. This equates to about $727,500 per month — approximately $8.73 million per year — paid by LSU through 2031. The amount would be higher if he is fired before the season ends, as he is currently making $9.4 million this year.
There are additional factors that could affect how much Kelly is ultimately paid. Like most coaches, he has a “duty to mitigate,” meaning he must continue to seek employment as a football coach, administrator, or media member. If he secures another “qualifying” job, the salary from that employer would offset the amount LSU owes him.
Of course, LSU would prefer not to face this scenario at all. Ideally, the Tigers want to be competing for championships with Kelly leading the program. Unfortunately, it increasingly appears that Kelly will leave Baton Rouge as the only LSU head coach in the 21st century not to have won a conference or national title.
Now in his fourth year as LSU’s head coach, Kelly holds a 34-13 overall record and a 17-7 SEC record. The latter is the best SEC win percentage for any LSU coach since Bill Arnsparger in the mid-1980s. Despite these numbers, they may not be enough to save Kelly’s job if he can’t pull off an upset in his upcoming game next week.
https://clutchpoints.com/ncaa-football/lsu-football-news-tigers-fans-brian-kelly-fired-vanderbilt-loss-buyout
