Brian Kelly Files Lawsuit Against LSU, Says School Now Trying To Void $54 Million Buyout By Firing For 'Cause'

Brian Kelly has officially decided to take LSU's Board of Supervisors to court over his buyout dispute that has been the center of attention since his dismissal, as the school now says he hasn’t been officially terminated. 

Over the past two weeks, both sides have been locked in an argument pertaining to the nearly $54 million buyout that LSU owed Brian Kelly after ‘firing’ the head coach following the loss to Texas A&M. 

After attorneys representing the former head coach gave the school a deadline of 5 p.m. Monday evening to give their decision on whether they would honor the contractual buyout, it's clear that LSU plans on using different tactics to get out of the full buyout. 

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LSU Looking For Every Avenue To Avoid Steep Buyout? 

As ESPN first reported, and OutKick has confirmed, the school is looking to fire Brian Kelly ‘For Cause,' based on a lawsuit filed by Kelly's attorneys late Monday evening. 

The lawsuit is a ‘petition for declaratory judgement,' presenting an argument by Kelly's representatives that LSU told them the school has not technically ‘fired’ the former head coach. 

The school, according to the lawsuit, is arguing that former athletic director Scott Woodward did not have the power to fire Brian Kelly, or negotiate a settlement on the school's behalf on Oct. 26, which was just hours after the loss to Texas A&M. 

The lawsuit states that representatives from both sides had a conversation on Monday evening where LSU officials notified Kelly's attorneys that the school believes they have grounds to officially terminate the head coach for cause, and the evidence exists for them to take this action. 

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This is a tactic being used by LSU to get out of paying the full buyout that Brian Kelly is owed, according to the contract signed when he first accepted the job. 

According to the lawsuit obtained by OutKick, attorneys for Brian Kelly are seeking a judge to issue a declaratory judgment stating that the former LSU coach was not fired with cause, which would force the school to pay him the entire $54 million buyout. 

LSU Trying To Figure Out Ways Around Buyout? 

Obviously, LSU is playing hardball when it comes to the financial terms of this separation. On Monday, OutKick confirmed that LSU officials presented Brian Kelly with two different settlement offers, which would eliminate any type of mitigating factors related to his contract buyout. 

These offers of $25 and $30 million did not suffice for Brian Kelly, who was open to a negotiation, but did not agree to a financial settlement that would be nearly half of what he was owed. 

LSU Still Battling Brian Kelly Over $53 Million Buyout, And Tigers Better Increase The Offer

In the 48-page lawsuit filed, there was not a clear definition given to Kelly's representatives of what type of grounds they could fire him for ‘cause.'

Yes, the school does have the right to fire a coach for cause, but the school has a seven-day period to inform Kelly of his firing for ‘cause,' which has clearly passed if we are going off the timeline of when LSU officially announced they were moving on from the former head coach. 

TO READ THE FULL CONTRACT, CLICK THE FILE BELOW

If LSU is trying to argue that Scott Woodward did not have the authority to fire Brian Kelly without approval from the Board of Governors, this is going to be an interesting fight over the next few months. 

This would obviously go against what Governor Landry said during his interesting press conference that week, where he mentioned he held a meeting at his mansion with Board of Supervisor members to go over the legality and financial terms of Kelly's firing. 

"I hosted a meeting at the Governor's mansion to talk about the cost and the legalities," Landry said three days after Kelly's ‘firing’.  "To talk about the cost, who pays for it, to talk about what's the effect of it. It was a meeting to discuss the legalities of the contract."

In the lawsuit filed on Monday evening, lawyers representing Brian Kelly pointed to statements made by LSU officials concerning why he was fired as the head coach. 

"LSU has never claimed that Coach Kelly was terminated for cause and, prior to November 10, 2025, never asserted that he engaged in any conduct that would warrant such a termination," the lawsuit obtained by OutKick notes. 

"To the contrary, LSU repeatedly confirmed, both publicly and to Coach Kelly, that the termination was due to the team's performance, not for cause."

This was bound to get ugly. Now, we have LSU threatening to potentially ‘terminate’ Brian Kelly for cause, while the former head coach is asking a judge to hand down a judgment declaring his firing has already been declared, and pay him the full buyout. 

Buckle up, this one could get uglier, as the Tigers search for a new football coach to replace the one that hasn't been technically ‘terminated’ yet.