Brian Kelly reveals how much money LSU spent on its 2025 roster
By Sydney Hunte
Published:
Brian Kelly will be looking to lead LSU to its first College Football Playoff appearance since 2019. That’s the year a Joe Burrow-led team put together an undefeated season en route to the program’s 4th championship.
Sure, Kelly’s won 29 games since leaving Notre Dame to take the reins in Baton Rouge. But Tigers fans are looking for something more than 9- or 10-win seasons.
As it turns out, LSU’s 2025 roster didn’t come cheap.
“We’re going to be just about $18 million,” Brian Kelly said on his weekly radio show on Thursday.
NIL and revenue sharing have certainly opened up an arms race around college football, and LSU doesn’t want to be left out as it looks to compete for a championship.
Kelly’s team began 2024 ranked in the top 15 but lost to USC in Las Vegas to open the season. They then won 6 in a row before dropping their next 3 to fall out of the Playoff race.
Garrett Nussmeier has returned for his final year of eligibility and is one of the favorites to win the Heisman Trophy. Caden Durham, the Tigers’ leading rusher in 2024, is back as well, along with leading receiver Aaron Anderson.
LSU was very busy in the transfer portal during the offseason, too. Nic Anderson (798 yards, 10 touchdowns in 2023) joined the WR room from Oklahoma, along with Barion Brown (Kentucky). Along with Nic Anderson and Brown, the Tigers added veterans like offensive linemen Josh Thompson (Northwestern) and Braelin Moore (Virginia Tech).
The Tigers also brought in defensive linemen Patrick Payton (Florida State), Bernard Gooden (South Florida), Jack Pyburn (Florida), and Jimari Butler (Nebraska), plus defensive backs Tamarcus Cooley (NC State) and Mansour Delane (Virginia Tech).
Sydney is an Atlanta-based journalist who has covered everything from SEC and ACC football to MLS, the U.S. men's national soccer team and professional tennis. His work has appeared on such platforms as SB Nation, Cox Media Group and FanSided.
