Let’s get this straight: after flopping against USC and limping to a 9-4 finish, LSU was supposed to be down bad, right? QB1 Bryce Underwood bounced to Michigan. The hype train was off the tracks. But while the rest of the country was snoozing on the Bayou, Brian Kelly was apparently building a war chest the size of the Pentagon’s. Word on the street? LSU might’ve just out-bagged Texas in this NIL game. And if what we’re hearing is true…every single team in college football just got put on red alert.

So here’s where the smoke turned into fire. SEC Mike slid through “That SEC Football Podcast” on May 7, sipping on gossip and ready to spill.“I heard a rumor, Shane. Juicy rumor. Ooh, no idea if this is true, so—caveat—throw that out there. But apparently, you know, we’ve covered it—Texas, reportedly $35–40 million on their roster. I heard that it’s not even the highest paid roster in the SEC this year. And then, so, there—there is another team that is rumored to have spent more on their roster this year. Can you take a wild guess who it is?” After Cousin Shane guessed Ole Miss (Good guess, cus they spent $13-14 million in 2024) as the SEC’s top NIL spender, SEC Mike cut him off with two letters that shook the mic: “LSU.” 

Now pause. That hit different. Because LSU had spent a humble $12 million on football NIL over the last three years combined. Not exactly oil tycoon numbers. But Mike wasn’t done. It’s funny, the lack of money is the most logical reason why Bryce Underwood flipped to Michigan. He shouted out Wilson Alexander’s deep dive in The Advocate about LSU going full billionaire-hunting mode.

“I’ve always heard they didn’t have that much money…There’s a story. I highly recommend it. We’ve never had this guy on the show—maybe we gotta reach out to him—Wilson Alexander, The Advocate. He just did this big exposé on how they’re reaching out to billionaires. You know, obviously Brian Kelly’s spending his own money. So they are all, all, all, all in.” SEC Mike added. “I don’t know what the number is, but I have heard it’s close, if not more, than Texas. So putting that into perspective.”

That’s Texas, by the way—the same Texas that’s dropping a reported $40 million on its 2025 roster, per Houston Chronicle. That includes NIL from Texas One Fund and revenue-sharing add-ons. Now LSU might be matching that? That’s a plot twist M. Night Shyamalan couldn’t write.

Let’s break it down. The LSU Tigers went from “damn, they down bad” to straight-up mafia-style NIL moves in under five months. Kelly didn’t just beg donors—he matched a full $1 million himself to the collective to spark fan donations. The result? Over 4,000 individual NIL-specific contributions, raising more NIL bread in a few months than LSU did in three years combined.

Ross Dellenger (Yahoo Sports) said it loud: seven-figure gifts came pouring in post-season. We’re talking about real Bayou heavy hitters—private equity boss and billionaire, Holden Spaht (worth over $3.7 billion per Forbes, the guy SEC Mike was referring to), Todd Graves from Raising Cane’s, Baton Rouge big dog Gordon McKernan. Straight-up cartel of Tiger loyalty.

“They’re all, all, all, all in.” SEC Mike said again. Not a whisper—he put the whole league on notice. And those funds are not just sitting in a vault. LSU spent $26.5 million between the 2024, 2025, and 2026 rosters, per Kelly’s convo with Wilson Alexander. But folks who know, know—it might be way more than that. Because how else you think LSU landed the No. 1 transfer class in the game?

LSU went Black Friday shopping in the portal and came back with 16 monsters. All but one came from a power conference. Eight? Straight from SEC rivals. That’s like robbing your neighbor’s house and then throwing a block party in their backyard.

You got former starters like Barion Brown (Kentucky), Nic Anderson (Oklahoma), offensive linemen from Northwestern and Va Tech, and three defensive ends—Payton, Pyburn, Butler—who’ve piled up 200+ tackles in the big leagues. That’s not recruiting. That’s raiding. And it’s not just portal kids. LSU is No. 1 in 2026 recruiting too. Yeah, two steps ahead while y’all still struggling to keep your 2026s on campus.

How? NIL.

The Bayou Traditions collective is front-loading all payments before revenue-sharing laws kick in. Smart money move. Kelly met with billionaires in December and told ‘em: we need help to make a playoff push. Spaht, the Cane’s crew, and the LSU mafia answered with suitcases. Carlos Spaht—Holden’s brother and ex-co-manager of the collective—told The Advocate his big bro dropped multiple seven-figure bags. “We grew up here,” he said. “This program means everything.” It’s not just business, it’s personal now.

Brian Kelly and LSU could push their NIL spending beyond $40 million—don’t be surprised when they do

Officially, Brian Kelly said $26.5M’s been used for the current and future rosters. But when you include recent portal grabs, high school re-signs, retention of starters, and the fundraising spike? That number feels like a warm-up.

“So far, Kelly said that $26.5 million combined has been allocated for the 2024, 2025, and 2026 teams,” Alexander said. “About $13 million has come from LSU’s NIL collective the past few months. Kelly did not specify how that money was divided but we know a chunk went to the 2024 team and a significant portion went has been used to retain key players, bring in freshmen, and sign the No. 1 transfer portal class in the country.”

But SEC Mike sure thinks it’s way more. They didn’t have that much money before. But now? They are reaching out on some billionaires. You don’t haul in the SEC’s most battle-tested transfer class with coupons and promises.

And let’s not ignore the flex. Texas made headlines with $40 million. LSU might’ve just copied the blueprint—and upgraded the furniture. The Tiger Athletic Foundation isn’t moving like a booster club anymore. It’s moving like Goldman Sachs in cleats.

LSU’s doing what Ohio, Oregon, and even Texas used to do—They’re not just stacking talent with Ms. This isn’t your daddy’s college football anymore. It’s an arms race—and Brian Kelly showed up with a rocket launcher made of donor checks. The Tigers might’ve lost Bryce Underwood, but in this new age? NIL is the real quarterback. And LSU’s calling plays with the biggest wallet in the room.

Stay asleep if you want. But if this $40M rumor’s even half true? Everybody in the FBS just got passed like a broken-down bus on the interstate. LSU are not playing checkers. They’re playing Monopoly—with real money. And Brian Kelly? He might’ve just bought Boardwalk and Park Place. The downside to this? It only heats up Brian Kelly’s seat if he fails to make the playoffs.