Pink slip equivalent to Powerball win for some LSU coaches

Longterm financial security comes in different ways for people, some being conventional and others not so. Most people sock away funds in IRAs, stocks and bonds and other conventional retirement plans. For a select few, the key to a secure future comes in the form of a pink slip.

Forget the Powerball win. Termination suits them fine. Such is the case for several former LSU coaches.

Ousted Tiger basketball coach Matt McMahon is the latest member of this elite group. His buyout figure amounts to just more than $8 million, according to his contract obtained by USA TODAY Sports. He joins a wealthy fraternity of former coaches whose termination came with a lofty safety net.

McMahon will join former football coach Brian Kelly, who is sitting pretty with $54 million in buyout money. He was canned four years into a 10-year, $100 million deal. Ed Orgeron received his last payments of a $17 million buyout in late 2025.