OXFORD, Miss. (InvestigateTV) — The excitement of a playoff gameday at the Grove couldn’t mask the bitter disappointment among Ole Miss fans still reeling from Lane Kiffin’s sudden departure to LSU in December, part of a record-breaking year that saw universities pay $228 million in buyouts to coaches they fired.
“I think it was a terrible decision,” said one fan tailgating before the December 20 game against Tulane. “And I’m pretty disappointed that I thought he was a better guy.”
The anger was palpable across Oxford’s campus, with fans expressing their fury in no uncertain terms about their former coach’s loyalty.
“There’s no way a coach should be able to leave a team in the middle of the year. Especially to an in-conference rival. It’s ridiculous,” said Jack Bouvier, an Ole Miss fan.
InvestigateTV found that since 2004, more than $1.1 billion dollars has been paid to fired coaches, leaving universities on the hook for much of that money.
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Record-breaking buyout year
Kiffin’s dramatic departure at the end of 2025 shook college football fans across America as teams chase gridiron glory. He replaced one of the 15 head coaches fired in 2025, with contracted buyouts worth a total of $228 million — the largest buyout total in college athletics history.
The top contracted buyout of the year went to LSU’s Brian Kelly, who was abruptly fired following an abysmal performance against Texas A&M, losing 49-25 in October.
Emails to former LSU Athletic Director Scott Woodward obtained by InvestigateTV show fans demanded the university make a change while the game was still in progress.
“Fire Brian Kelly now! This [expletive] is pathetic what I’m watching... I can’t deal with it no more,” one email read.
“You and Brian Kelly do not even deserve to run Northwestern State, much less LSU.... You have about a year until you can’t even eat at a restaurant in Louisiana,” read another email sent to Woodard.
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“Brian Kelly played you like a fiddle,” a fan wrote in another email.
“Hey Scott... It’s time to move on from Brian Kelly. The defense is a mess...the offense is just putrid... The efforts inconsistent, and we’ve lost our edge,” stated another email.
“I am writing to you as a proud alumnus...committed season ticket holder...avid attendee...and a significant financial contributor....I urge the university to act swiftly and thoughtfully in initiating a transition from Coach Kelly’s tenure,” wrote someone who identified themselves as a significant donor and season ticket holder.
Within hours of these emails flooding Woodward’s inbox, Kelly was gone. His contracted buyout: $54 million, the second largest in college football history.
LSU wasn’t finished paying. The university also had to send money to Oxford, as Kiffin’s new contract required LSU to pay hundreds of thousands to Ole Miss for his buyout and playoff wins. Kiffin’s new LSU contract is now the second-highest in college football, worth $91 million.
SEC leads costly trend
The SEC was on the hook for $138.6 million for five coaches not to work in 2025. Beyond Kelly’s $54 million buyout, Kentucky’s Mark Stoops $38 million, Florida’s Billy Napier $21 million, Auburn’s Hugh Freeze nearly $16 million, and Arkansas’ Sam Pittman $9.3 million.
If Arkansas had waited longer and the school’s win record declined, a reduced buyout agreement could have kicked in, saving the school $3.6 million.
“The coaches have all the leverage right now whether they are leaving or coming in,” said David Ridpath, a professor of sports business at Ohio University.
Nationwide impact
InvestigateTV analyzed the amounts and compared them to the cost of college tuition at one of the nation’s most prestigious Ivy League colleges. We found the record $228 million in 2025 buyouts could fund the entire 1,700-student freshman class at Harvard, covering tuition, room and board, with $100 million left over.
Other conferences also faced substantial buyouts. Jonathan Smith of Michigan State had a buyout of 33.5 million, Mike Gundy of Oklahoma State, $15 million, and Justin Wilcox of Cal Berkeley, $10.9 million.
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“It’s spend, spend, spend. It’s not managing the dollars like the rest of the university has to,” Ridpath said. “It’s about time we figure out a way working through congress is a way to force college athletics to manage revenue better.”
Luxury perks and incentives
InvestigateTV reviewed the largest contracts from last year’s fired coaches and found money built in for courtesy vehicles from luxury car dealerships, access to private planes, golf memberships, millions of dollars worth of incentives for winning postseason games, and hundreds of thousands of dollars if the team achieves a 2.7 GPA.
“We’ve driven ourselves off the cliff, and Congress is going to have to rescue us,” Ridpath said.
Calls for reform
Ridpath believes Congress is the only hope to rein in bloated spending. Here’s why: Last year, anti-trust lawsuits successfully challenged the NCAA’s rules, forcing the NCAA to view college sports as a commercial enterprise. A federal judge foundthat rules limiting earnings for athletes are considered economic restraints.
In 2025, the NCAA was ordered to pay $2.8 billion in damages to athletes from 2016 to 2024 because a judge found the NCAA limited the earning potential of college athletes. Ridpath believes what happened will directly impact coaches’ contracts.
“I hate to say we need to rely on the government for anything, but that’s where we are,” he said. “I think we will need national standards to bring some sanity back to college athletics.”
Back at the Grove, many Rebels echoed Ridpath’s demand for reform as Lane Kiffin’s abrupt exit has fans buzzing with a painful sting of betrayal.
“It’s messed up to leave your boys. You get to the playoffs for the first time in school history, and then you’re up and out and just don’t even see a thrill with them,” said Corey Joyner.
In October, U.S. Representative Michael Baumgartner of Washington introduced a bill that would limit annual compensation and cap buyouts of any athletics department employee. The measure was introduced in the House and referred to the House Committee on Education, where it currently sits.
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