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Ole Miss seemed to finally feel the impact of Lane Kiffin’s controversial move to LSU. The Rebels’ Cinderella run ended in the Fiesta Bowl, prompting a lucrative payday for the former Ole Miss head coach.
Within the next 30 days, Kiffin will receive a $500,000 bonus.
According Reception sportsPart of LSU’s deal to lure Kiffin away from Ole Miss was to pay bonuses promised by his previous employer. The pay is expected to fall under the “ancillary benefits” category listed in Kiffin’s agreement with the Tigers.
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Lane Kiffin speaks at a news conference as he is introduced as the new 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 staggered. A $150,000 payout was earmarked once Ole Miss earned a first-round playoff game. The Rebels’ advance to the quarterfinals increased the compensation to $250,000.
The rebels’ New Year’s victory over Georgia raised that bonus to $500,000. If Ole Miss had hoisted the college football national championship trophy, Kiffin would have earned 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 Oct. 25, 2025. (Kevin Jairaj/Image Images)
“The coach shall be entitled to receive payment in an amount equal to the amount the coach would have been entitled to receive if he had remained a head coach at the coach’s immediate former employer and had coached the former employer’s football team through the 2025-26 CFP,” states Kiffin’s LSU contract, obtained by On3.
“If applicable, payment under this section may be made from affiliated foundation funds and must be paid within 30 days of removal of the former employer’s equipment from CFP 2025-26.”
MIAMI BEATS OLE MISS BEHIND CARSON BECK’S GAME-WINNING TOUCHDOWN TO REACH CFP NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP
After dominating Tulane in the first round of the College Football Playoff, the Rebels defeated the Georgia Bulldogs in the quarterfinals.
Kiffin celebrated the team’s victory in a social media post.
“What a great finale!!! What fun! Only two more to go,” 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 Oct. 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Alonzo Adams)
Despite being an underdog in Thursday’s semifinal, Ole Miss took the heavily favored Miami Hurricanes to the brink. Miami quarterback Carson Beck ran to score the go-ahead touchdown in the final seconds of the game to clinch the Hurricanes’ berth to the national championship game.
Miami now awaits the winner of Friday’s other semifinal matchup, the Peach Bowl, between Indiana and Oregon.
