Brian Kelly Is Suing LSU To Get His Entire $54 Million Buyout

LSU fired its former head coach, Brian Kelly, over two weeks ago. Kelly had never been able to get the Tigers back to the national championship. After a sluggish start this season, the program had seen enough.

Kelly signed a ten-year, $95 million contract extension with the school in November 2021. His contract included a buyout clause where he'd receive 90% of his remaining salary for the duration of the contract. In this case, that means he's due to get a total of nearly $54 million, paid out in equal installments through 2031.

In an effort to save money in the long run, LSU offered Kelly other options. He'd get $25 million upfront instead of the $54 million spread out over several years. Kelly turned that down. LSU upped its offer to $30 million. Again, Kelly said no. And now, he's suing the school, saying it fired him without cause.

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Per the lawsuit, Kelly claims the school said it never formally terminated him. LSU allegedly said former athletic director Scott Woodward never had "the authority to terminate Coach Kelly and/or make settlement offers to him." Woodward was fired a few days after Kelly.

It seems like this contract might not get resolved anytime soon, and it continues a lengthy public battle for LSU. The head coaching position was one of the most sought after in college football, though potential candidates may think twice after seeing how this is all playing out.

Kelly was 34-14 during his LSU tenure. He didn't have a terrible record, though he struggled in more significant games and never led the Tigers to the College Football Playoff. His firing came after a 49-25 loss to Texas A&M. LSU was winning that game by four at halftime, so Kelly's LSU tenure went out with a whimper.

Kelly's contract also had language around mitigating some of his LSU buyout with future earnings at another head coaching stop. If he can get the school to agree to continue paying him while making money from a second school, that'll be a cherry on the top. In the meantime, the litigation headaches will continue—but there's potentially a very lucrative reward on the other side of it.