Lane Kiffin spotlights LSU NIL, donor plan over his deal: 'I'm telling you right now I don't know what my contract is here'

From the beginning of this process, Lane Kiffin has been honest about one factor he does not consider important — money. At least when talking about his own contract. Kiffin continually stated he was never going to make a life decision from a financial standpoint, hammering home the point once again during his opening LSU press conference.

“I said through the process I’m never going to make a decision on money,” Kiffin said. “I’m telling you right now, I don’t know what my contract is here. That’s not very financially responsible, okay? I’m sure it’s really good, I don’t know what it is. Nor did I know at the other places what the numbers were because, I said, in the beginning, I told Jimmy Sexton, ‘Don’t tell me the numbers. I want to make a decision that has nothing to do with money for me. Now, tell me the numbers in the plan for what is for the players.’ Because that’s everything in that area, to me. Not what I make, what they make, to understand how you can build this.”

SUBSCRIBE to the On3 NIL and Sports Business Newsletter

Now, NIL dollars, that’s where Kiffin wanted to know the numbers being thrown around. Recruiting the high school ranks ranks high in importance at LSU, soon to be mixed with Kiffin’s frequent usage of the NCAA transfer portal. Going after players required to find success at LSU will require a good chunk of money.

Part of the conversation Kiffin had with LSU athletic director Verge Ausberry did include plans for the NIL structure moving forward. Of all the coaching options available to him, Kiffin says the Tigers put together the best plan. He knows how important a role it plays in eventually winning a national championship.

“Verge and his team had a really, really good plan,” Kiffin said. “Even talking to some donors that are part of that plan here to see exactly, how does that work? There’s a great plan here. There’s a great plan here of how we can come together with what we bring and with what players around the country want to play for us and our systems, and then have that support to do that, so that they want to play for us and they get taken care of financially.

“Obviously, nowadays, it’s the world of college football and it’s important and it’s critical to them. It’s important to them. This was the best setup. That definitely played a factor into it. I don’t care what your systems are. Without good players, they don’t work.”

Kiffin will inherit a fringe top-10 recruiting class, currently ranking 11th per the Rivals Industry Team Rankings — good enough for 6th within the SEC. Photos emerged of him meeting with the No. 1 overall player in the country, Five-Star Plus+ ATH Lamar Brown, on Sunday evening.

After all, recruiting is a non-stop, 24/7 process. Making sure the right resources are put behind it was important to Kiffin, getting everything he wanted from LSU before accepting the job.