Sources: LSU Rewards Ed Orgeron With Substantial New Contract

Ed Orgeron is being rewarded, in a big way, for LSU’s national championship season.

The new six-year contract will have a base salary of $6 million per year and will have a $5 million split-dollar life insurance policy, multiple sources tell Sports Illustrated. The Athletic's Bruce Feldman first reported news of Orgeron's new deal.

Orgeron led the Tigers to their fourth national championship in program history this past season, a magical 15-0 run that included an SEC title, a Heisman Trophy winner (QB Joe Burrow) and the top-ranked offense in the land.

Orgeron, entering his fourth season as the full-time coach, will see his salary increase by more than 50%. He was hired after the 2016 season with one of the lowest salaries in the SEC at $3.5 million, and got a bump to $4 million last year. The school plans to release details of the contract soon.

The new deal is the latest in a fairy tale for Orgeron, born and raised in South Louisiana, a Cajun-speaking man with one of the sport’s best redemption tales. Orgeron failed as head coach at Ole Miss, was passed over at USC and landed the LSU job only after Tom Herman jilted the program in 2016. In the early 1990s, Orgeron lost his job as an assistant at Miami after multiple arrests, sought treatment for alcoholism and has been dry for 20 years. He rebounded in the coaching industry by taking a low-paying assistant job in 1993 at Nicholls State, a small college near his home of Larose.