{"id":204622,"date":"2025-11-11T23:03:26","date_gmt":"2025-11-11T23:03:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2025\/11\/11\/former-lsu-coach-brian-kelly-sues-school-over-54m-buyout\/"},"modified":"2025-11-11T23:03:26","modified_gmt":"2025-11-11T23:03:26","slug":"former-lsu-coach-brian-kelly-sues-school-over-54m-buyout","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2025\/11\/11\/former-lsu-coach-brian-kelly-sues-school-over-54m-buyout\/","title":{"rendered":"Former LSU Coach Brian Kelly Sues School Over $54M Buyout"},"content":{"rendered":"


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Former LSU football coach Brian Kelly<\/strong><\/a> is suing the university for the nearly $54 million buyout he believes he is entitled to after the school allegedly fired him without cause on October 26.<\/p>\n

The university claims Kelly, 64, was not formally terminated, and that it has cause to fire him, according to a petition for declaratory judgment, obtained by ESPN<\/em><\/a> on Tuesday, November 10. If that is the case, the university would not owe Kelly the aforementioned buyout.<\/p>\n

Kelly is seeking \u201ca declaratory judgment confirming that LSU\u2019s termination of [him] is without cause and that [he] is entitled to receive the full liquidated damages provided for in (his contract).\u201d<\/p>\n

LSU is arguing that then-athletic director Scott Woodward<\/strong> did not have the authority to terminate Kelly\u2019s contract or negotiate terms, therefore he was never officially fired without cause.<\/p>\n

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\n Related: <\/span>North Carolina AD Throws Support Behind Bill Belichick Amid Rumors of Buyout<\/span><\/a>
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\n\t\t\tThe Bill Belichick experiment in Chapel Hill is unraveling in public fashion, even as the University of North Carolina backed its struggling head coach. On Wednesday, October 8, The Guardian\u2019s Ollie Connolly reported that Belichick, 73, has \u201cdiscussed buyout options with North Carolina\u2019s hierarchy\u201d and \u201csignaled a willingness to trigger his own $1 million buyout [\u2026]\t\t<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

The university, which fired Woodward four days after letting Kelly go, has not specified on what grounds it is trying to fire Kelly for cause. Examples laid out in his contract, obtained by Us Weekly<\/em>, include NCAA violations, felony conviction or \u201cserious misconduct.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cCoach Kelly\u2019s representatives informed LSU that Coach Kelly disagreed with each of LSU\u2019s new positions,\u201d the filing reads, \u201cincluding (i) the idea that he somehow had not been terminated, (ii) that the then-Athletics Director Woodward was not acting with authority (in a meeting attended by several LSU athletics officials, including the current Athletics Director Ausberry<\/strong>), and (iii) that there were any grounds for termination with cause (or that LSU could manufacture any such grounds after his termination), thus necessitating this action.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kelly\u2019s contract states that if he is fired without cause<\/a>, he is entitled to 90 percent of his base pay and all supplemental compensation remaining on his deal. The current contract runs through 2031.<\/p>\n

LSU relieved the veteran head coach of his duties after the Tigers lost 49-25 to Texas A&M, dropping their record to 5-3 on the season. LSU has since also lost at Alabama under interim head coach Frank Wilson<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

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\n Related: <\/span>Celebs Who Are Massive College Football Fans<\/span><\/a>
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\n\t\t\tEric Stonestreet, Will Ferrell and Matthew McConaughey take rooting for their alma mater to the next level with every college football season \u2014 and they aren\u2019t alone. Stonestreet embraced his inner Wildcat in March 2023 while joining the Kansas State University\u2019s marching band during the team\u2019s spring game, sharing a clip on social media. Ferrell, [\u2026]\t\t<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Kelly was in his fourth season as LSU head coach, having led the Tigers to three consecutive bowl wins and a berth in the 2022 SEC championship game.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe had high hopes that [Kelly] would lead us to multiple SEC and national championships during his time in Baton Rouge,\u201d Woodward said in a release at the time, announcing a \u201cleadership change\u201d in the football program. \u201cUltimately, the success at the level that LSU demands simply did not materialize.\u201d<\/p>\n

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