LSU Agreed To Cover Any Losses on the Sale of Lane Kiffin's House, But There Seems To Be Some Mystery Around What He Actually Paid For It
Sportico — Among the enticements LSU offered to lure Lane Kiffin to Baton Rouge—in addition to a minimum salary of $13 million a year—the school agreed to effectively indemnify him for up to $500,000 in potential losses on the sale of his primary residence in Oxford, Miss.
That provision appears in the “Other Terms & Conditions” section of the term sheet Kiffin signed on Nov. 29, prior to publicly accepting the head coaching job.
According to the term sheet, Kiffin purchased his Oxford home for $2.89 million, meaning LSU would be responsible for covering at least some of the shortfall if he sells it for less.
But where in The Magnolia State did that figure come from? At best, it’s unclear.
Lafayette County (Miss.) real estate records indicate that the residence in question is likely the home he bought in 2021 in the Grove at Grand Oaks golf course community. When it comes to home sale prices, Mississippi is a nondisclosure state. However, Redfin lists the property as having sold for $1.65 million.
On Tuesday, Hollis Wayne Butler Jr., who sold the home to Kiffin, confirmed to Sportico that the figure Redfin lists matches his recollection. He added that he also sold his furniture to Kiffin, which might have brought the total price up by roughly $100,000.
An LSU spokesperson and Kiffin’s agent, Jimmy Sexton, did not respond to email inquiries.
Zillow pegs the home’s current market value around $2.4 million. The 7,200-square-foot property, which Kiffin has not yet listed, features five bedrooms, six bathrooms and a swimming pool.
Hmmm, very interesting. So Lane Kiffin claims his home that's currently valued at $2.4 million was purchased for almost exactly $500,000 more than that and got that amount in potential losses covered in his new contract at LSU. Certainly a prudent move if you can get it.
The only potential issue is Redfin and the guy who sold Kiffin the house say he bought it for $1.6 million, which if true, would potentially net Kiffin more than a million dollars between the sale of the home and another $500k from LSU. Curious.
Now, none of this can really be verified since Mississippi doesn't actually disclose home sales and I feel compelled to include an especially strong "allegedly" and "reportedly" in relation to this story, but the numbers just seem to work out quite well. And I would ask why anyone signing a $90 million contract would be worried about a singular additional million, but you take $1 million wherever you can get it.
Could just be a big coincidence. I'd mostly just like to know why Lane is taking out a 30-year mortgage on a house he should have been able to buy in cash. Dave Ramsey would be livid.
Lafayette County records show that a “Monte Lane Kiffin, aka Lane Kiffin” financed the home’s purchase with a 30-year, $1.155 million loan from Morgan Stanley Private Bank, at an initial fixed interest rate of 2.6%.