LSU Head Coach Brian Kelly Makes Absolutely Wild NIL Fundraising Offer

Brian Kelly has an absolutely wild offer to help raise money for LSU's NIL collective.

Stephen Lew-Imagn Images

LSU Tigers head coach Brian Kelly did not leave Notre Dame two years ago to put up subpar seasons in which his team isn't in the postseason conversation.

He has been adamant about the fact that he came to Baton Rouge to compete for national championships, but he just demonstrated how serious he is about that with a move never before seen by a head coach during the era of name, image, and likeness. He along with his wife Paqui have pledged to personally match donations to the Tiger Athletic Foundation's Excellence Fund up to $1 million from from Dec. 13 to Feb. 5, 2025.

Coaches are not allowed to contribute directly to a school's NIL efforts, but Kelly is able to do so by instead giving to the collective. He released a statement on the unprecedented move.

"LSU has a long and proud tradition of being one of the elite programs in college football,” Kelly said. “In order to remain among the nation’s elite in this new world of college athletics, we have to be competitive in all areas of our program. I am committed to doing all that we can to win championships at LSU. While we are not permitted to financially support our NIL efforts directly, Paqui and I can certainly match this tremendous fanbase’s generosity by investing in the future of LSU Athletics through the Tiger Athletic Foundation."

When Kelly was first hired in 2022, he made a similar donation but to the school directly for another $1 million in order to help complete facility improvements for his team, renovations such as a new athletic training room and recovery suite within the football facility. According to the release from LSU breaking the news of the Kelly family's donation, both $1 million pledges are the largest by a sitting head coach in the history of the school.

In Kelly's first season at LSU last year, he made a surprise run to the SEC Championship after defeating Alabama early in the year along with helping to coach Jayden Daniels to a Heisman trophy and overseeing what was the best offense in college football. He struggled to replicate that same success after the departure of Daniels to the NFL and his Tigers team posted an 8-4 record in 2024.

Kelly will hope that the results in year three are better than year two after he was the subject of much criticism surrounding the program throughout the season. The $1 million pledge may be a step towards trying to accomplish that very goal.