In the aftermath of a wildly successful debut, LSU coach Lane Kiffin could point to the wisdom of his program-building approach.
It’s straight out of “Business 101,” as he put it on the Monday after a 51-10 win over Clemson, but it’s not something the fiscally conservative always loves to hear out of a football coach’s mouth.
“I’m sure I’ll get criticized for this, but I say all the time, ‘You got to spend money to make money,’ ” Kiffin said.
It’s understood how much money LSU spent for Saturday’s victory.
It started with $54 million to buy out Brian Kelly. It continued with $97 million to swipe Kiffin away from Ole Miss. It piled on with a rumored $50 million in NIL deals and revenue-sharing cash for the roster.
Because so much had been invested, much was expected. Kiffin couldn’t have delivered more fully than a program-record 38 first downs, or the 644 yards LSU produced compared to Clemson’s 145.
Arizona State transfer quarterback Sam Leavitt, Colorado transfer left tackle Jordan Seaton and Tennessee edge-rushing transfer Jordan Ross were, respectively, the SEC offensive player, offensive lineman and defensive lineman of the week.
Money went into the team that debuted in Tiger Stadium. Happy LSU fans went out.
That keeps wallets open in a sport that’s unavoidably cash-dependent now more than ever.
“Instead of trying to do things a certain way and then see, well, somehow, maybe this will work and then we’ll eventually invest — a first-game performance like that is critical for that. It’s critical for recruiting,” Kiffin said. “But it’s critical for your own players. When you have this many new players that haven’t played with us, to say, ‘OK, it works.’ ”
Kiffin believes player “buy-in” matters, especially for a school that’s unabashedly focused on football.
His players are not going to spend much time outside of the building “doing a lot of other things,” Kiffin said, whether that’s socializing or playing video games.
Much like the pros, Kiffin doesn’t care to police athletes’ fashion on their way down Victory Hill and into Tiger Stadium. They wore everything from T-shirts and sweatpants to tailored suits on Saturday as LSU gymnast-turned-model Olivia Dunne trailed behind them, along with Louisiana-born comedian and podcaster Theo Von.
Kiffin wants to meld the toughness and discipline of Alabama with the glitz of Hollywood-adjacent USC. LSU games are a performance, in Kiffin’s eyes, and the Tigers will play in front of a packed and exceedingly passionate house if they execute at a high level.
As they did Saturday.
“I told them today, now you feel what it can feel like,” Kiffin said, “and you see what it can look like.”
Now it’s about keeping butts in the seats and money in the program’s coffers.
It’s a high-stakes game that takes only a glance at LSU athletics’ financial reports to understand. The football program brought in nearly $117.6 million in revenue during the 2025 fiscal year, including $43.6 million in ticket sales and $28 million in contributions.
The university reported $53 million in media-rights revenue, and much of that value comes from football, which could be at the center of another bet.
LSU officials held discussions at the governor’s mansion in early August about creating an LLC to house those broadcast dollars, allowing an investor to claim a stake and potentially trade out when the SEC’s new TV deal comes along in 2034.
A potential investment of $100 million into the LLC would provide LSU with more money now with the expectation that more money will come later.
That’s if Kiffin keeps winning.
That keeps fans buying tickets and merchandise, prospective students applying to LSU for admission, and boosters feeling like their NIL investment in this marketing and entertainment vehicle is worthwhile.
In the opener, they got their money’s worth. Now, LSU’s focus has to shift to the performances to come (Louisiana Tech this week), then Kiffin’s return to Ole Miss, which should be reality TV at its finest.
LSU’s 41-point home win over ACC legend Dabo Swinney and Clemson was a good start.
“Everything’s got to be the same as last Saturday. I challenge our fans the same thing,” Kiffin said. “If you’ve got to have a mock Saturday, put up a stage of ‘College GameDay’ here, whatever it is. Come out here early, start drinking at 7 a.m.
“Whatever you did last week, do it again.”
