Lane Kiffin LSU Contract Buyout Details After Loss to Arch Manning, Texas and Top-10 Losing Record

Lane Kiffin's first season as LSU's head coach is not going as hoped, and now the head coach's contract is under the spotlight.

The Tigers dropped to 6-4 overall and 3-4 in SEC play with Saturday's stunning 22-21 loss to Arch Manning and Texas. Manning found Raleek Brown for a touchdown in the final seconds to put the Longhorns ahead for good and all but eliminate LSU from the College Football Playoff race.

If LSU did decide to move on from Kiffin, it would be a costly move.

ESPN's Adam Rittenberg reported in December 2025 he agreed to a seven-year, $91 million deal and noted that LSU would owe him 80 percent of his remaining salary should it fire him. What's more, that amount is "not subject to offset or mitigation, according to the term sheet," although it features a buyout that would start at $7 million and drop to $6 million in January 2027 if he left for another head coaching job.

While moving on from Kiffin so quickly would be shocking, it is fair to start asking questions given his overall struggles against quality competition.

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Morgan Moriarty of Sporting News noted Saturday's loss dropped him to 6-19 against top-10 foes and 15-28 against ranked teams as a head coach for Tennessee, USC, Florida Atlantic, Ole Miss and now LSU.

Stewart Mandel of The Athletic didn't exactly paint a pretty picture in his description either.

"LSU fans, on the other hand, must be wondering whether there's an out clause in Kiffin's $91 million contract," Mandel wrote. "The Tigers have faced four current Top 25 teams (No. 3 Alabama, No. 6 Texas, No. 11 Kentucky and No. 19 Ole Miss) and lost to all four. (No. 8 Tennessee is next.) Not a great look for anyone, but especially someone who makes $13 million a year, routinely knifes his employers, struts into stadiums with a celebrity entourage, appears in TV commercials and had a near-$50 million roster to play with this season. His hand-picked portal QB, Sam Leavitt, got picked off three times by Texas' Jelani McDonald (two of them in the end zone) and has a national-high 12 on the season.

"Meanwhile, every time ABC showed Kiffin on the sideline, he looked nervous and in pain. A far cry from the cocky guy who used to throw his play sheet in the air when he knew he'd just called a touchdown. Like perhaps the pressure of trying to avoid a fourth loss of the season at a place that fires national championship coaches is getting to him. But this is what LSU signed up for—hot yoga, hot celebrities … and a 6-19 career record against top 10 foes."

The losses have at least been close for LSU outside of an 18-point defeat to Alabama.

It went back-and-forth with Ole Miss throughout the game until the Rebels scored the go-ahead touchdown with fewer than seven minutes remaining. And Kentucky defeated Kiffin's team by one point after successfully scoring a two-point conversion in overtime.

It seemed as if LSU was going to defeat Manning and Co. on Saturday with an 11-point lead in the second half, but the Longhorns controlled the closing stretch and then left with a shocking victory in the final seconds.

Ultimately, it was more of the same for Kiffin against a quality opponent. That means he will be under plenty of pressure during the 2027 season to turn things around from what is shaping up to be a disappointing first campaign with the Tigers.