Brian Kelly buyout, contract details: What it would cost LSU to fire coach as Tigers fall shy of expectations

LSU came into the 2025 season with lofty expectations under Brian Kelly, but after a second loss to a ranked opponent in three weeks, the Tigers are now 5-2 and dangerously close to elimination from College Football Playoff contention. 

After losing to Ole Miss at home in Week 6, LSU went on the road and lost to Vanderbilt in Week 8 and are now looking up at a number of teams above them in the SEC standings. With No. 4 Texas A&M and No. 6 Alabama looming on the schedule in the next two weeks, pressure is at an all-time high for Kelly to lead the Tigers to big wins if he's going to quiet the noise about his job status. 

With the loss in Nashville, Kelly is now 34-13 in his four seasons at LSU, where the Tigers have lost at least three games in each of his first three seasons in charge and failed to reach the Playoff. Given the expectation at LSU is to win national championships, that streak continuing for a fourth consecutive year would certainly raise questions about whether Kelly should remain in his post leading the Tigers. 

Brian Kelly contract, buyout details 

Kelly signed a 10-year contract in 2021 and is making $9.4 million this season, with 6 years and $58.2 million remaining on his deal that runs through 2031. His buyout calls for Kelly to be paid 90% of his salary through the remainder of his contract, which would be $52,380,000 if he's fired after this season. If they fire him during the season, they'd add 90% of whatever is remaining of the $9.4 million he's owed for this year to that figure. 

Kelly, who is 63 years old, could also look at retirement after this season if he felt it was best for him to step down. We've seen a number of long-time coaches step away from college football in recent years, citing the changing landscape of revenue-sharing and NIL, so it's not out of the realm of possibility that Kelly could step away willingly -- or at least, amicably. 

In any case, with the coaching carousel already spinning quickly, we could see more teams entering the fray after James Franklin's firing at Penn State made it clear that no buyout is too large. A number of SEC teams, including Florida and LSU, could be mulling a coaching change in what figures to be one of the crazier years for coaching movement. 

That said, the $52+ million that would be owed to Kelly is one of the 10 biggest in the sport and LSU would need to feel extremely confident they had a superior coach lined up to make that kind of decision.