Brian Kelly Offering Up $1 Million in Bold New LSU NIL Plan

The LSU coach and his wife will match donations associated with the school's NIL efforts.
LSU head football coach Brian Kelly will match up to $1 million in NIL donations in new initiative.
LSU head football coach Brian Kelly will match up to $1 million in NIL donations in new initiative. / Brett Patzke-Imagn Images
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LSU head coach Brian Kelly just finished his third regular season in Baton Rouge, and now has sights set on 2025 and beyond with a focus on NIL and recruiting.

Kelly and his wife Paqui announced a new initiative surrounding the school's NIL push called the "Kelly Family Million Dollar Match Challenge." From Dec. 13, 2024 until Feb. 5, 2025, the Kelly Family is matching every dollar up to $1 million that is contributed by fans to the Tiger Athletic Foundation's AD's Excellence Fund.

As Yahoo's Ross Dellenger noted, this is expected to continue to become more common as schools try to navigate the new revenue sharing and NIL era of college athletics. He also noted that some coaches have contributed a portion of their salary privately over the last couple years to prepare and adapt to this new era.

Kelly has gone 28–11 across three seasons at LSU, including an 8–4 mark this year. The Tigers will play the Baylor Bears in the Texas Bowl on New Year's Eve.


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Mike McDaniel
MIKE MCDANIEL

Mike McDaniel is a staff writer on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated, where he has worked since January 2022. His work has been featured at InsideTheACC.com, SB Nation, FanSided and more. McDaniel hosts the Hokie Hangover Podcast, covering Virginia Tech athletics, as well as Basketball Conference: The ACC Football Podcast. Outside of work, he is a husband and father, and an avid golfer.