After the firing of Brian Kelly, Louisiana governor Jeff Landry claimed his state’s flagship institution had a “$53 million liability” in the form of their ex-coach’s buyout.
Now, LSU is attempting to claim is has no liability at all, because it never actually fired Kelly at all.
That’s according to a 48-page lawsuit filed by LSU in 19th Judicial District for the Parish of East Baton Rouge, obtained by ESPN. The school claims that AD Scott Woodward never actually had “the authority to terminate Coach Kelly and/or make settlement offers to him.”
Kelly’s representatives claim that multiple LSU officials, including current AD Verge Ausberry, attended the meeting where LSU dismissed Kelly, and that the procedure outlined in Kelly’s contract to fire him for cause was not followed. Kelly’s camp responded, per the suit:
Coach Kelly’s representatives informed LSU that Coach Kelly disagreed with each of LSU’s new positions, including (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), 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.
LSU has never claimed that Coach Kelly was terminated for cause and, prior to November 10, 2025, never asserted that he engaged in any conduct that would warrant such a termination. To the contrary, LSU repeatedly confirmed, both publicly and to Coach Kelly, that the termination was due to the Team’s performance, not for cause.
The legal filing came after LSU attempted to settle Kelly’s buyout for less than the $53 million sticker price. According to ESPN, LSU offered Kelly $25 million and then $30 million, which would have eliminated Kelly’s contractual duty to mitigate the buyout by seeking other employment, as well as ending the offset provision. Kelly declined both offers. Per his contract, Kelly’s $53 million is set to be paid out in monthly installments through 2031. The argument in favor of taking the smaller amount is that, by receiving the money sooner in the form of lump sums, Kelly could then put it in the market and grow the pile to larger than $53 million by the time 2031 rolls around.
After Kelly declined, LSU evidently decided to go for the nuclear option.
“No school has ever won a ‘termination for cause’ lawsuit – even when they could allege grounds with a straight face. Thus, it seems unlikely that LSU could set a new precedent when everyone in college sports is laughing at them for taking a position that’s absolutely absurd,” attorney Tom Mars tweeted.
