Lane Kiffin's $91M deal, Brian Kelly's $54M buyout, a $40M roster: CBS Sports asks if LSU is getting its money's worth
LSU's bill for 2026, per CBS Sports: 🐯 Lane Kiffin's contract: around $91 million overall ($13 million this year plus incentives). Brian Kelly's buyout: $54 million. The roster: slightly north of $40 million, about double the 2025 roster's roughly $18-20 million. “LSU is almost in a tier of its…
CBS Sports put a price tag on LSU's 2026 season on Tuesday. Austin Nivison's story adds up what the Tigers spent to move from Brian Kelly to Lane Kiffin and to rebuild the roster, then sets it against a 6-3 record. The coaching bill first. Per CBS Sports, Kiffin's contract comes out to around $91 million overall, with $13 million this year plus incentives. Moving on from Kelly cost LSU a $54 million buyout. Then the roster. Sources told CBS Sports' Chris Hummer the 2025 LSU roster cost roughly $18-20 million. The 2026 Tigers cost about double that, "somewhere slightly north of $40 million." One anonymous SEC front-office staffer told CBS Sports: "LSU is almost in a tier of its own this year." LSU also landed the No. 1 transfer class in the country, per the 247Sports Team Rankings. The return so far: despite what CBS Sports calls "a 100 percent increase in spending," LSU has one more win through nine games than it did last season. The money does show up in the box score. Through nine games, LSU is scoring 37.1 points per game, up from 23.6 in 2025, and gaining 504.1 yards per game, up from 341.8. The defense is allowing 17.7 points per game, down from 19.0, and 84.7 rushing yards per game, down from 126.0. The schedule doesn't explain the record either. Per ESPN FPI, LSU's 2025 slate ranked No. 12 in toughness and the 2026 schedule ranks No. 23. CBS Sports points to the margins instead: LSU went 0-for-4 on fourth down and lost the turnover battle 2-0 in Saturday's 31-13 loss to Alabama, and fell to Kentucky in overtime after a fourth-down punt and a PAT choice in OT. The story's bottom line: "Kiffin is getting paid handsomely to correct those issues, and he's running out of time to do so." No. 24 LSU (6-3) hosts No. 8 Texas on Saturday, Nov. 14, at 6:30 p.m. CT on ABC in Tiger Stadium. LSU announced Tuesday that the game is sold out, which makes all seven home games of Kiffin's first season sellouts, per WBRZ. LSU then closes with two road games, starting at Tennessee.
Sources
- https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/news/lane-kiffin-contract-brian-kelly-buyout-roster-lsu-getting-its-moneys-worth/
- https://www.wbrz.com/news/lsu-announces-sellout-for-final-home-game-against-texas/
- https://lsusports.net/news/2026/11/8/football-falls-to-no-5-alabama-31-13
- https://apnews.com/article/louisiana-state-tigers-texas-longhorns-college-sports-college-football-texas-8592742948e14152b84ed53cc693b097
