Lane Kiffin has $500,000 reasons to root for Ole Miss vs. Georgia

Lane Kiffin has $500,000 reasons to root for Ole Miss vs. Georgia originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

Lane Kiffin wanted to coach the Ole Miss Rebels through the playoff even after signing a $91 million contract with the LSU Tigers. But Rebels management told him to kick rocks.

The irony? He is still getting richer by cashing checks for his old team's success.

Ole Miss CFP success puts more money in Lane Kiffin’s pocket

Kiffin reportedly received a $250,000 purse after Ole Miss destroyed Tulane Green Wave 41-10 Saturday night to punch their ticket to the Sugar Bowl. 

The money comes straight from Kiffin's new LSU contract clause. When the Tigers forced him to ditch the Rebels for that second-highest-coaching paycheck in college football, they agreed to match every CFP bonus he would've earned at Ole Miss. 

The structure starts at $150,000 for a first-round appearance. Since the Rebels have advanced to the quarterfinals following their first-round victory, the check gets fatter and jumps to $250,000.

If they beat Georgia in the Sugar Bowl on New Year's Day, that will add another $500,000 to Kiffin's bank account for reaching the semifinal.

Winning the national championship will add a $750,000 bonus to his already loaded purse, and it will be a cool million dollars in his account. The Tigers will cut Kiffin those checks within 30 days after Ole Miss finishes their playoff run.

While interim head coach Pete Golding is running the real show, the Tigers are giving Kiffin the bonus payment. Not surprisingly, this structure is pretty wild but it makes sense for how this divorce went down.

But the brutal optics send shockwaves into the college football community.

"I won’t pay him. See you in court," one fan fired back.

Another penned, "Wildest contract clause I've seen. Man leaves for LSU, still cashes checks when his old squad wins. That's some next-level negotiating right there."

"This is hypocrisy," the third one noted sarcastically.

"And NIL is the problem. It’s all a mess. Why bother having teams associated with colleges/univ. just run it like English football ( soccer), "a fourth fan added. 

The backlash isn’t going to change the contract clause. Kiffin still gets paid, and it’s hard to call it a bad deal for a coach who was being pushed out of Oxford just three weeks ago.

More college football news: 

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• Pat McAfee delivers reality check to Diego Pavia for Heisman weekend antics
• Fernando Mendoza won't keep the Heisman Trophy
• Why LSU should be extremely nervous about Michigan firing Sherrone Moore
• Lane Kiffin receives $100,000 for Ole Miss’ CFP win