No. 6 Ole Miss is making the most of its first trip to the College Football Playoff. After a dominant win over Tulane in the first round, the Rebels stunned Georgia 39-34 thanks to a late field goal drive from quarterback Trinidad Chambliss to reach the CFP semifinals against Miami. 

Pete Golding, who took over after Lane Kiffin departed for LSU, is now 2-0 as a the Rebels’ coach with both of those victories coming in the CFP. Yet Kiffin still has a strong rooting interest in his former team.

Despite Kiffin no longer being with the program, he still benefits financially from the Rebels’ playoff win. That’s because, as part of the agreement of Kiffin leaving Ole Miss before its CFP run, LSU agreed to pay his playoff bonuses if the Rebels kept advancing.

That means that Kiffin earned $250,000 from LSU on New Year’s Day thanks to the Rebels win over Georgia. That comes in addition to the $250,000 he made on their win over Tulane in the first round for a cool $500,000 payday. If Ole Miss wins the national title, Kiffin could earn up to $1 million.

Lane Kiffin’s return to Ole Miss with LSU set for September 2026 as SEC releases complete football schedule

David Cobb

The former Ole Miss coach signed a seven-year deal worth $91 million in Baton Rouge, which comes with opportunities to earn more via incentives, according to records obtained by The Advocate. Before incentives, Kiffin will make $13 million per year. One of the escalators in Kiffin’s contract requires a raise to make him the highest-paid coach in the country if he wins a national championship, according to the Advocate.