Brian Kelly recently mentioned LSU‘s payroll heading into 2025 is at “just about $18 million.” A big offseason full of raising money, the recruiting loss of quarterback Bryce Underwood may have played a role. Watching the Five-Star Plus+ quarterback leave for Michigan sparked a mindset shift in Baton Rouge.
“In this new model, you have to be able to adapt to current circumstances,” Kelly said Wednesday via the SEC Coaches Teleconference. “Certainly, that was one big one that we had to address and adapt to.”
Underwood is now the Michigan starting quarterback heading into its opener against New Mexico. Whether or not the same would be true at LSU, we do not know. After all, Garrett Nussmeier decided to come back for his final season of college football. Either way, the Tigers were not able to get the Underwood recruitment over the finish line.
No exact number has been confirmed on Underwood’s NIL compensation with Michigan. However, the range is believed to be between $10 to $12 million over a four-year period. LSU had a long-time commitment from him but once the ball got rolling with the Wolverines, there was no looking back.
Kelly then got the ball rolling by announcing a plan to match up to $1 million in NIL donations ahead of the 2025 season. He credits LSU fans for stepping up to the plate, helping the Tigers adjust to the modern times of college football. And ultimately land the roster they are set to run out against Clemson on Saturday night.
“At the end of the day, it was our fanbase that stepped up and said ‘We need to be a part of this.’ I think that, more than anything else — with the gift that I made and followed up with over 1,000 to 1,500 individual gifts to support our roster, I think that said that everybody had their ear to the ground and had to be ready to adjust or, as I said, be much more in tune to what was going on in college football at the time,” Kelly said.
Teams across college football are spending hefty dollars in order to win a national championship. LSU is no different — the number is just public thanks to the head coach. Now, Kelly wants to go out there and get results on the field. Not just against Clemson but hopefully through SEC play and into the month of January.
