Former LSU football coach Brian Kelly has reportedly rejected two financial settlement offers from the university, and his attorneys have set a Monday deadline to confirm he'll will receive the $54 million owed to him per the terms of his contract, according to ESPN's Mark Schlabach.
Kelly, who was fired Oct. 26, was in his fourth season in Baton Rouge. He signed a 10-year, $95 million deal in 2021 and is owed a majority of what's left on his deal. After negotiations, Kelly turned down an initial $25 million lump-sum offer from then-athletic director Scott Woodward, according to documents obtained by The Baton Rouge Advocate.
Woodward also proposed removing the mitigation clause that would have reduced Kelly’s buyout, if he took another coaching job. LSU executive deputy athletic director Julie Cromer later raised the offer to $30 million, payable in two installments, but Kelly again declined, according to the report.
In a Nov. 5 letter to new athletic director Verge Ausberry and Board of Supervisors member John Carmouche, Kelly’s attorneys demanded written confirmation by 6 p.m. ET Monday that LSU intends to “fulfill its contractual obligation” to pay the full buyout amount. “Absent this written confirmation by that date, Coach Kelly will pursue all available legal remedies,” the letter said.
The attorneys reiterated that LSU had already confirmed Kelly was fired without cause, which would entitle him to 90% of his remaining guaranteed compensation, roughly $54 million in monthly payments through 2031, offset by any future coaching income.
The amount would be the second-largest payout in college football history behind Texas A&M parting ways with Jimbo Fisher for more than $76 million after his 2023 firing.
Ausberry was formerly LSU’s deputy athletic director and succeeded Woodward as athletic director on Nov. 4. Interim coach Frank Wilson’s Tigers fell to 5-4 after a 20-9 loss at No. 4 Alabama on Saturday.
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