Now that the NCAA’s new revenue-sharing model allows schools to distribute up to roughly $20.5 million directly to athletes, where should LSU athletics invest its money? Like most other programs, Lane Kiffin and his football program are set to get the lion’s share. But not everyone is going to agree on where it goes, and that’s where the internal tension creeps in. 

“What is the room going to look like when Lane Kiffin, Kim Mulkey, Jay Johnson, and Will Wade are all fighting for revenue sharing for their respective teams?” 

That’s the question 104.5 ESPN’s Hunt Palmer has for LSU Athletics. The school has four high-profile coaches from four winning programs. But the limited pool of money becomes a tug-of-war because none of them are wired to lose that fight. Will Wade didn’t take the LSU men’s basketball job on March 30 without financial assurances. 

Women’s basketball head coach Kim Mulkey won’t stand quietly while others cash in. Jay Johnson’s baseball powerhouse needs transfer portal ammo to stay elite. Everyone wants their slice, and they all have legitimate claims. That’s why Palmer sent urgent advice to Lane Kiffin. For him, this isn’t just an administrative issue. Taking 75 percent of the pie means he has zero excuses. If football stumbles, the pressure from Wade and Mulkey will spark a massive internal crisis. Kiffin must ensure he wins immediately to justify the budget he’s working with.

“You have to get football right,” he said. “You have to get it right. You have to create revenue through football. If you’re going to give them 75%, I’ve now got 25%. And I’ve got Will Wade, Kim Mulkey, and Jay Johnson banging on the table, okay? That is, no matter how you would slice that pie up, it’s fascinating. Because never before has the athletic department had to play tug-of-war like this.”

LSU’s current distribution model is both logical and volatile. Lane Kiffin’s football team is set to receive 75% of the $20.5 million pool. Men’s basketball gets 15% while women’s basketball takes 5%. The rest of the sports get 5%, including Johnson’s baseball. Football getting more than half the main share of the revenue is curious. But then it’s also most schools’ biggest income generator, but the discrepancy makes it harder for other sports to thrive. It’s hard to ask elite coaches to come and compete nationally with limited resources while one sport dominates the budget. And the Tigers are about to experience that friction in real time.

But LSU isn’t sitting still. AD Verge Ausberry has already begun reshaping the department’s structure. He even appointed Heath Schroyer as the new lead administrator for the men’s basketball team. This isn’t the old model of decision-making from behind a desk.

“Our new alignment in our department, those guys, you’re not going to find them in that office,” he said. “Most people are going to be on the street, mainly raising revenue.”

That tells you LSU understands the problem. The question is whether they can outwork it. 

LSU is seeing changes in finance

While LSU athletics dodged campus-wide budget cuts, the university itself hasn’t been as lucky. A mandated 2% reduction hit academic and research departments, part of a broader financial squeeze tied to declining federal funding. In other words, while coaches argue over millions, the rest of campus is tightening belts.

In the past, LSU athletics has even helped fund the university during tough times, sending tens of millions upstream between 2012 and 2019. But those days might be over. With revenue-sharing costs rising, the athletic department could soon be the one looking for help as the spending hasn’t slowed. Wade’s new seven-year contract is worth $30 million. Then there’s Lane Kiffin who signed a seven-year, $91 million deal. 

There are new revenue streams coming in from corporate sponsorships like the Woodside Energy patch deal, taxpayer-backed subsidies from sports gambling taxes, and potential donor expansion efforts. If those funds fall short, the burden will inevitably fall on student fees. More importantly, it puts Lane Kiffin right there in the middle of the turf war. The $91 million coach won’t just be fighting SEC rivals, but also his own athletic department.