Kiffin’s original contract was set to expire December 31, 2025, but a clause triggered by the Rebels’ seventh win (October 25 vs. Oklahoma) automatically extended it through 2031 and raised his buyout to $36.6 million if Ole Miss fires him without cause. If Kiffin leaves on his own, he owes the school $4 million.
Sources close to the situation tell The Athletic and On3 that LSU’s offer is fully on the table: $14 million per year, a $25 million annual NIL war chest, and total control of football operations. Florida remains in the mix with a competing $13–14 million package, but momentum has shifted heavily toward Baton Rouge after Kiffin’s family toured LSU facilities last week.
Ole Miss has matched every financial counter so far and is prepared to go higher, but the school will not let the saga drag into the playoff selection window. Athletic director Keith Carter wants clarity by early next week at the latest. One high-ranking Ole Miss source said Wednesday: “We’re not holding the playoff hostage. If he wants to go, we’ll wish him well and move forward.”
Kiffin, 50, has gone 54-19 in Oxford, with four straight 10-win seasons and a 10-1 record this fall that gives the Rebels a 99.7% chance of making the first 12-team playoff. Quarterback Jaxson Dart and the entire roster have publicly backed their coach, but players are privately bracing for a potential departure.
For now, Kiffin is saying all the right things. At Wednesday’s press conference he repeated his mantra: “One game at a time. Focus on keeping the Golden Egg.” Translation from coach-speak: the decision is coming, and it’s coming fast.
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