Lane Kiffin gets insane buyout in $91M LSU contract that is hilariously hypocritical

Al Davis famously called Lane Kiffin a "flat-out liar" when the legendary Raiders owner fired the prodigious young head coach after only 20 games as the result of a disastrous 5-15 run in Oakland.

Fast forward 17 years later, and the Louisiana government and LSU administration, especially governor Jeff Landry, feel like flat-out liars after trying to score political capital points by preaching that he would not stand by ever again while the LSU Tigers tried to hire a head coach with an obscene buyout after the $54 million owed to the fired Brian Kelly.

After a lot of bluster, LSU capitulated and agreed to pay out the full $54 million.

Well, Lane's new buyout as LSU head coach blows that bonkers number out of the water.

If Kiffin's LSU tenure goes down in a blaze of glory, he'll get $72.8 million

Let me repeat that. Kiffin will get $72.8 million with "no offset clause."

Originally reported as a seven-year deal worth $84 million, Wilson Alexander from NOLA.com has seen the term sheet, and it's actually $91 million with other incentives if Kiffin performs at a level that Death Valley is dreaming about for Geaux Tigers nattys.

🐯 pic.twitter.com/kouHZowGku
— Lane Kiffin (@Lane_Kiffin) December 1, 2025

We've covered plenty of the ramifications from a family perspective, but the buyout is certainly an outrageous number that shows the hilarious hypocrisy of the Louisiana government.

So Louisiana's Governor went on a rant saying Brian Kelly's contract was financially irresponsible and that the next coach would be given a performance-based contract...only for LSU to give Lane Kiffin a 7-year, $91 million deal with an 80% buyout and no offset clause. https://t.co/msHBEOIqi6
— Joe Pompliano (@JoePompliano) December 1, 2025

Only Jimbo Fisher's notorious buyout would be bigger

The $72.8 million number would only be surpassed by Jimbo Fisher's still hotly-debated $77.6 million buyout being lured to Texas A&M after winning a national championship with the Florida State Seminoles. The Aggies will pay Fisher for their monstrous blunder through 2031.

Every college football pundit always whines about things dramatically need to change in the sport, but as long as these types of contracts keep getting offered, characters like Kiffin, and his all-powerful agent Jimmy Sexton at CAA, will continue to have all of the leverage.

Will an improved calendar fix it for the integrity of the sport? Maybe some, but blue-blood programs like LSU will always want to be a powerhouse. And if they're not, they'll pay absurds amount of money to make it happen.

Good news for Kiffin. If it doesn't work out, the troll king can join Jimbo for one of his other favorite pastimes — deep-sea fishing.

— Enjoy free dish of rich and fabulous players with The Athlete Lifestyle on SI —

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