The coaching carousel rumor mill is not taking a break anytime soon in sending Lane Kiffin to Florida. In the thick of it, it is only fair to wonder what Kiffin to Florida would actually look like in terms of numbers.
One word: Staggering.
Kiffin's current contract with Ole Miss, a revised version of which is still sitting unsigned on Kiffin's desk, earns him around $9 million annually.
But if Kiffin considers a position at Florida, expect that single digit to easily shoot up to a double digit.
Lane Kiffin's numbers would look insane in Florida
Orlando Sentinel's Mike Bianchi speculates Kiffin's potential contract with Florida to easily be about $150 million.
The reason? "Because no one — NO ONE! — throws money around quite like college football programs hunting for their next savior," Bianchi writes.
"If Kiffin wants $150 million, we’re probably going to hand him $151 million just to be safe."
"And that’s just Lane’s price tag. He’s going to demand elite assistants, analysts, support staffers and probably a small army of quality-control coaches who hold clipboards like sacred artifacts. Add it up, and the total cost of the Lane Train becomes the Lane Plane — a $200 million aviation-grade financial commitment."
And that's just talking about his contract. The buyout number can easily be argued to be even more staggering than his original contract, especially with Florida repeatedly their 'revolving door' reputation right.
"If Florida gives Kiffin a 10-year, $150 million fully guaranteed contract and he flames out like his predecessors, what would it cost to fire him after Year 4?"
"Answer: $90 million."
"Ninety. Million. Dollars. That’s not a buyout. That’s a ransom note written in gold ink."
The numbers might look ridiculous at the first glance but all the hype that Kiffin is surrounded by makes it double-take worthy.
Not to mention, it will make him the highest paid coach in college football, topping Kirby Smart's $130 million contract with Georgia.
All this said, Kiffin has already outright stated that he would take any decision based on money. But the numbers are tempting enough to make that commitment really tough.