New LSU head football coach Lane Kiffin has every reason to watch his former school, the University of Mississippi, participate in the College Football Playoff — and they go beyond cheering for his former players and colleagues.
A term sheet that Kiffin, 50, signed with LSU when he was hired in November stipulates that the university will pay him bonuses equal to what he would have earned with the Rebels had he still been coaching them through the 2025 College Football Playoff, CBS Sports reported on Saturday, December 20.
Kiffin has already earned $150,000 for Ole Miss participating in the playoff and an additional $250,000, thanks to Ole Miss’ 41-10 win over Tulane University on Saturday, December 20 in the first round.
“Congrats to all the coaches and players @OleMissFB and especially @CoachGolding and seeing his 2 boys on the sidelines 💙❤️,” Kiffin wrote via X after the win. “Great win today. #1-0. #BeatGeorgiaInTheBoot 🇹🇹”
The sixth-seeded Rebels will face No. 3 seed Georgia in the Sugar Bowl on New Year’s Day for a spot in the semifinals. If Ole Miss wins that game, Kiffin will receive an additional $500,000. An appearance in the National Championship game would give him $750,000 more, followed by a $1 million bonus if the Rebels win the title.
The current Ole Miss coach, Pete Golding, who took over the team after Kiffin’s departure, will earn the same bonuses from the Rebels, according to Front Office Sports.
Bonuses aside, Kiffin will make around $13 million annually as head coach of the LSU Tigers after agreeing to a seven-year, $91 million contract. If Kiffin is fired without cause before the end of the deal, the university would owe him 80 percent of what is remaining on the contract.
While Kiffin is watching the playoff from home, he insisted that was not by design. Upon accepting the LSU job, he released a statement saying he hoped to coach the Rebels through the postseason before transitioning to Baton Rouge.
“I was hoping to complete a historic six season run with this year’s team by leading Ole Miss through the playoffs, capitalizing on the team’s incredible success and their commitment to finish strong, and investing everything into a playoff run with guardrails in place to protect the program in any areas of concern,” Kiffin wrote in a November 30 statement. “My request to do so was denied by [athletic director] Keith Carter despite the team also asking him to allow me to keep coaching them so they could better maintain their high level of performance.”
He added, “While I’m looking forward to a new start with a unique opportunity at LSU, I will forever cherish the incredible six years I spent at Ole Miss and will be rooting hard for the team to complete their mission and bring a championship to Oxford.”
Several of Kiffin’s former players have disputed his assertion that they wanted him to keep coaching through the playoffs.
“‘Despite the team asking me to keep coaching,’” Ole Miss offensive lineman Brycen Sanders wrote via X two days later. “I think everyone that was in that room would disagree.”
“Let em’ know‼️ Every single person‼️,” lineman Jayden Williams added, quoting Sanders’ post..
