College football has always been a "spend money to make money" endeavor, and Brian Kelly taking matters into his own hands in that regard.
The LSU head coach and his wife Paqi announced Friday they are donating up to $1 million of their own money to spur donations to the Tigers' NIL fund.
"LSU has a long and proud tradition of being one of the elite programs in college football," Kelly said. "In order to remain the nation's elite in this new world of college athletics, we have to be competitive in all areas of our program. I am committed to doing all that we can to win championships at LSU."
Brian Kelly and his wife, Paqui, are kicking off the Kelly Family Million Dollar Match Challenge!
— LSU Football (@LSUfootball) December 13, 2024
They will match donations to LSU's Football NIL efforts - up to $1 million - with a gift to the Tiger Athletic Foundation’s AD’s Excellence Fund. pic.twitter.com/eqTGi6MBTO
The news comes after LSU signed the sixth-ranked recruiting class in the SEC. The Tigers lost the No. 1 overall player in quarterback Bryce Underwood to Michigan and 4-star defensive back Kade Phillips to Texas late in the process.
“It’s not just about finding the right fit academically or holistically anymore,” Kelly said last week. “It’s about what’s the most money I can get, and that’s unfortunate. But it’s the world we live in, and you have to be able to adapt and realign.”
Kelly said LSU didn't have enough big-money donors.
“If LSU wants to be at the top of the food chain, we have to be involved as well,” Kelly said. “It can’t just be one or two guys; it has to be all of those who want to see LSU succeed.”
Kelly repeated that argument this week as LSU shifted its recruiting efforts to transfers, saying, "We have a ways to go."
"If you want to be in the big poker game, this is what the ante is," Kelly said. "We still have donors who say, 'I'm not giving to that.' I get it. But we are still in the big poker game. And so we still have to be able to go out and say we need support so we can continue to build our roster. … We're going to be in the transfer marketplace, and we're going to do what we need to do to fulfill the needs of putting together a roster that is able to compete and win a championship."
And with that, LSU's head coach is now also one of its biggest donors.