LSU football head coach Brian Kelly made waves on Friday when LSU announced that Kelly would match donations to LSU’s NIL collective up to a million dollars.
Kelly cannot donate directly to the NIL collective, so his money will go to the Tiger Athletic Foundation, LSU’s primary booster club.
The announcement comes a week after Kelly emphasized how important NIL was in the modern era of college football.
“You need NIL to supplement your recruiting efforts, and that’s just the reality of what we live in,” Kelly said on National Signing Day.
“Recruiting is no longer just about recruiting. It’s no longer just about relationships. You need a collective,” Kelly said.
On Friday, Kelly referenced those comments when explaining the reasons behind the “Million Dollar Match Challenge.”
“I figured that after my last press conference, where I pretty much challenged the entire LSU fan base, that if they wanted to continue to have a championship program that, they needed to understand that there’s a financial responsibility, as well, that I needed to put my money where my mouth was and be a part of that,” Kelly said.
“I thought that it should start with me and then continue to work through all the other avenues that are available to us,” Kelly said.
LSU is competitive in NIL, but the Tigers have been outclassed at times by other collectives. Kelly is taking a step to help LSU reach the next tier.
In the era of the transfer portal, building a championship team requires spending a pretty penny on transfer additions and high school recruits.
This article originally appeared on LSU Wire: Brian Kelly on why he’s using his money to help LSU’s NIL operation
