Lane Kiffin is no longer the head coach at the University of Mississippi, but he still benefits financially from the team’s success.
The new LSU coach congratulated his former team on its 41-10 win over Tulane in the first round of the College Football Playoff on Saturday. The Rebels defeated the Green Wave 45-10 in Week 4, a feat Kiffin nearly repeated under new coach Pete Golding in the sideline win.
The victory also earned Kiffin a $250,000 bonus. And this money was not paid by Ole Miss.
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Because of a clause in his contract with LSU, Kiffin’s new school will pay him any postseason bonuses he would have earned at Mississippi State. His contract with the Rebels stipulated that he would receive $250,000 if he won the playoffs. Therefore, LSU is responsible for that amount.
It’s an odd clause, but there’s nothing un-strange about the Kiffin saga at the end of the college football season. LSU managed to lure Kiffin from Oxford to Baton Rouge despite Mississippi State’s push for the College Football Playoff.
Kiffin claimed he wanted to coach the Rebels in the playoffs even after agreeing to transfer to LSU in 2026. But the University of Mississippi didn’t do that. Those discussions ostensibly influenced Kiffin’s decision, and before LSU announced Kiffin would be the school’s new football coach, Mississippi State officially named Goldin Kiffin his successor.
Kiffin will make more money if Ole Miss beats Georgia in the Sugar Bowl on Jan. 1. The quarterfinal win was worth $500,000 to his Mississippi College contract. Will he attend that game? New Orleans is just a short drive from Baton Rouge.
