After getting fired from LSU, Brian Kelly is now going after his former employer and has filed a lawsuit against them on Monday. This is the latest chapter in the school’s coaching debacle which saw the Louisiana governor trying to get involved, the school firing its athletic director and now, its former head coach suing the school.
According to ESPN, Kelly sued the university after it tried to use a loophole to fire him and not pay him his full $54 million buyout, as stated in his contract. In the court documents filed by his lawyers on Monday, he alleged that the school told him that he was not “fully terminated” and were looking to fire him “for cause” so they do not have to pay his full buyout amount.
“LSU’s representatives had a call with Coach Kelly’s representatives, where LSU took the position that Coach Kelly had not been formally terminated and informed Coach Kelly’s representatives, for the very first time, that LSU believed grounds for termination for cause existed,” the filing read.
In the contract, if LSU found “cause” to fire Kelly, then the school would not have to pay his full amount.
Kelly was fired on Oct. 26 after what has been a disappointing season so far for the Tigers. In his lawsuit, he is seeking “a declaratory judgment confirming that LSU’s termination of Coach Kelly is without cause” and argued that “Coach Kelly is entitled to receive the full liquidated damages provided for in (his contract).”
In other words, Kelly is suing LSU so that they could pay him the $54 million buyout as stated in his contract.
Brian Kelly Already Turned Down Settlement Offers From LSU Before Filing Lawsuit
Soon after LSU fired Brian Kelly, the school tried to settle with him regarding his buyout. The school tried to make it smaller, initially offering $25 million, which was turned down, and then offering $30 million. However, Kelly did not budge and kept on demanding that the school pay him the $54 million that he was supposed to receive.
Furthermore, representatives for the former LSU coach have pointed out that the school “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.”
Reports indicate that both sides are now gearing up for what is expected to be a protracted legal battle over Kelly’s buyout package.
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