LSU's Lane Kiffin Buyout Details in Contract Reveal Cost to Dismiss Coach

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BATON ROUGE, LOUISIANA - OCTOBER 17: Head coach Lane Kiffin of the LSU Tigers reacts during the first half of a game against the Mississippi State Bulldogs at Tiger Stadium on October 17, 2026 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. (Photo by Tyler Kaufman/Getty Images)

LSU is in the first season of the Lane Kiffin era. It’s unlikely to end anytime soon.

But Saturday’s struggles against Alabama have Tigers fans already searching Google to figure out what Kiffin’s buyout is in his contract.

Would the Tigers get rid of Kiffin now? There’s almost no chance.

But if they did, it’d be expensive.

Lane Kiffin Contract Details

GettyLEXINGTON, KENTUCKY – OCTOBER 10: Lane Kiffin the head coach of the LSU Tigers gives instructions to his team against the Kentucky Wildcats at Kroger Field on October 10, 2026 in Lexington, Kentucky. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)

Kiffin signed a seven-year contract with LSU at the end of the 2025 season that pays him $13 million annually.

Over seven years, that works out to $91 million in total value just from that salary, not accounting for bonuses, according to ESPN.

ESPN’s Adam Rittenberg shared these details at the time Kiffin signed his contract:

Another notable clause calls for Kiffin to become the nation’s highest-paid coach if LSU wins a national championship during his term as coach. The escalator would occur only once during Kiffin’s term with LSU, on the date the team wins a national title.

LSU last week agreed to pay former coach Brian Kelly his full $54 million buyout after firing him Oct. 26. The school also is set to make its final payment this month to former coach Ed Orgeron, who led the Tigers to a national title in 2019 and was fired in 2021.

Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry publicly criticized Kelly’s contract and its structure following the coach’s firing, as well as athletic director Scott Woodward, who soon resigned from his position.

Lane Kiffin Buyout Details

Kiffin’s buyout amount depends on his remaining salary.

If he is fired without cause at any point, he’ll be owed 80% of his remaining salary, per ESPN.

This is the full scoop, via Rittenberg:

If Kiffin is fired without cause during his seven-year term with LSU, he would be owed 80% of his remaining salary — an amount not subject to offset or mitigation, according to the term sheet. If Kiffin leaves LSU for another head coaching job, his buyout would begin at $7 million and drop to $6 million in January 2027.

LSU will pay Kiffin bonuses of $1 million for winning the SEC title game, and a CFP structure that begins at $750,000 for a first-round appearance and increases to $3 million for a national title victory. The school also will cover the difference — up to $500,000 — between the purchase price of his home in Mississippi ($2.89 million) and a new primary home in the Baton Rouge area.

So if he was fired at the end of this season, for example, Kiffin would be owed more than $62 million as the 80% of the $78 million remaining on the six years left on his deal.