NEWYou can now listen to PK Press Club articles!
Ole Miss seemed to finally feel the impact of Lane Kiffin’s controversial pivot to LSU. The Rebels’ Cinderella run ended in the Fiesta Bowl, sparking a lucrative payout for the former Ole Miss head coach.
In the next 30 days, Kiffin will receive a $500,000 bonus.
According to Sports at receptionpart of LSU’s deal to lure Kiffin away from Ole Miss was to pay his promised bonuses from his former employer. The payment is expected to fall under the “perquisite benefits” category listed in Kiffin’s agreement with the Tigers.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON PK Press Club
Lane Kiffin speaks during a press conference as he is introduced as the new head football coach of the LSU Tigers at Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge, Louisiana on December 1, 2025. (Tyler Kaufman/Getty Images)
Kiffin’s bonus was progressive. A $150,000 payout was reserved once Ole Miss secured a first-round playoff game. The Rebels’ advance to the quarterfinals brought the compensation to $250,000.
The Rebels’ New Year’s Day victory over Georgia increased that bonus to $500,000. If Ole Miss had hoisted the College Football Playoff national championship trophy, Kiffin would have won a total of $1 million.
Ole Miss Rebels head coach Lane Kiffin throws a football before a game against the Oklahoma Sooners at Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium on October 25, 2025. (Kevin Jairaj/Imagn Images)
“The coach will be entitled to receive payment in an amount equal to the amount the coach would have been entitled to receive had he remained a head coach at the coach’s immediate previous employer and coached the previous employer’s football team during the 2025-26 CFP,” Kiffin’s LSU contract, obtained by On3, states.
“If applicable, payment under this section may be paid from funds of affiliated foundations and must be paid within 30 days of the elimination of the previous employer’s team from CFP 2025-26.”
MIAMI BEAT OLE MISS BEHIND CARSON BECK’S WINNING TOUCHDOWN TO REACH CFP NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP GAME
After dominating Tulane in the first round of the College Football Playoff, the Rebels upset the Georgia Bulldogs in the quarterfinals.
Kiffin celebrated the team’s victory in a social media post.
“What a great ending!!! So much fun!! Only two left,” he wrote in a post on X, tagging the Ole Miss football team.
Mississippi head coach Lane Kiffin watches his team against Oklahoma in Norman, Oklahoma on October 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Alonzo Adams)
Despite being an underdog in Thursday’s semifinal, Ole Miss pushed the favored Miami Hurricanes to the brink. Miami quarterback Carson Beck rushed for a touchdown in the final seconds of the game to punch the Hurricanes’ ticket to the national championship game.
Miami now awaits the winner of Friday’s other semifinal, the Peach Bowl, between Indiana and Oregon.
