How Much Money Would Lane Kiffin Earn if Ole Miss Defeats Wake Forest in 2024?

When the Ole Miss Rebels head to Winston-Salem this fall, there's more on the line than a simple notch in the win column.

Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin watches during the Ole Miss Grove Bowl Games at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium in Oxford, Miss., on Saturday, Apr. 13, 2024. / Bruce Newman/Special to the Clarion

The Ole Miss Rebels have seen rather remarkable growth as a program under Lane Kiffin's leadership as head coach, and one area where his team has seen success is against foes from the ACC.

Since Kiffin was hired as Ole Miss' head coach prior to the 2020 season, the Rebels have posted a 3-0 record against opponents from the Atlantic Coast Conference, beginning with a neutral site win over the Louisville Cardinals in 2021. After that win in Atlanta, the Rebels went on to take down the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets in back-to-back seasons, including a 42-0 win on the road (2022) and a 48-23 win in Oxford last fall.

It's always a positive for Ole Miss when it gains a win over a power conference opponent from outside the SEC, but it appears there are some financial incentives for Kiffin in the deal, as well. According to The Clarion Ledger, Kiffin has earned $100,000 apiece for each win he has gained over an ACC opponent in his time with the Rebels, and he has a chance to push that total to $400,000 with a fourth win this season against Wake Forest.

According to the documents obtained for the report, Kiffin earns $100,000 each time he defeats a non-SEC power conference team, and since the league requires each team to schedule a non-conference game against a power team each year, there's always an opportunity for a pay raise.

So far, Kiffin has collected on those opportunities.

The Demon Deacons in Winston-Salem are not expected to have a very strong year (projected win total of 4.5, per FanDuel), but history is on their side in this series. Despite both universities residing in the South, Ole Miss and Wake have only met twice on the gridiron, and the Deacons picked up wins in both 2006 and 2008.

The 2006 game in Oxford was more lopsided (27-3) than the 30-28 nailbiter that took place in Winston-Salem in 2008, but if Ole Miss can claim this expected win in 2024, it would break a short historical trend and help line the pocketbook of its head coach once again.

Ole Miss and Wake Forest will face off in Week 3 of the college football season, and the game is scheduled for a 5:30 p.m. kickoff in Winston-Salem, N.C. The game will be televised on The CW.