Lane Kiffin Cashes In On $100K Bonus While Away From The Team

Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin was not with the Rebels for their 43-24 victory over Louisville on Monday night because he tested positive for COVID-19, but he will still collect the $100,000 bonus he gets for any regular season victory over a Power Five non-conference team.

Mississippi athletics director Keith Carter said after the game, the bonus is among those listed on a term sheet for Kiffin that was provided by the school earlier this summer in lieu of the agreement between Kiffin and the Ole Miss Athletics Foundation, USA Today reports.

The foundation pays most of Kiffin’s basic compensation — like his $4.5 million this season — as well as his bonuses, the outlet reports.

Though Kiffin was not on the sideline Monday night in Atlanta, Mississippi did not designate an interim head coach for the game, and USA Today reports the athletics department said that there would be “no change in gameday coaching responsibilities for the staff.” Kiffin “will be involved in game planning leading up to kickoff.”

The decision to honor the bonus makes Kiffin the first coach this season to secure a six-figure performance-incentive bonus. He can also get $150,000 for each win against a Southeastern Conference opponent, beginning with the team’s fifth such win of the regular season, and Kiffin’s deal also has an array of additional incentives.

USA Today reports that Nevada’s Jay Norvell and Texas-San Antonio’s Jeff Traylor each gained $25,000 on Saturday when their teams defeated Power Five conference opponents California and Illinois, respectively.