LSU’s playbook in 2025? Flip the script, burn the old one, and pray to the football gods. After three straight years of missing the playoffs and taking Ls in the SEC, Brian Kelly—Mr. develop and recruit himself—just stared down the transfer portal and decided, ‘Let’s build a roster our own way.’
Word on the street? LSU just dropped a cool $18 million to assemble what Kelly is calling his “best roster” yet. It’s either Natty or nap time for this whole regime. And it all started with a 17-year-old named Bryce Underwood. This week, Matt Moscona straight-up confirmed on the ‘After Further Review’ podcast that the Tigers doubled their portal activity from last year, going from 9 additions to 18. That’s not supplementing anymore; that’s a full-blown shopping spree.
Nic Anderson from Oklahoma, Barion Brown from Kentucky, Patrick Payton from Florida State, and AJ Haulcy to finish it off? Looks like a big NIL investment. LSU snatched up names like they were on a midnight sneaker drop. And guess who was right in the middle of all this? Not just Brian Kelly. Austin Thomas—the general manager running roster ops—had his fingerprints all over this thing.
In Athlon Sports‘ 2025 College Football Preview, an anonymous SEC coach laid out their thoughts on LSU. “The big talk here is the way they’ve restructured. This isn’t an autonomous coaching culture anymore. [GM] Austin Thomas has a huge role building the roster, and it showed this offseason. The internal evaluation of LSU football will look more professional; they’re going to build BK [Brian Kelly] the best roster possible to go out and win games.”
Reading that snippet, Matt Moscona didn’t hold back. “This year is a 180. You went from nine portal additions a year ago to eighteen this year. And you went from Brian Kelly saying, point blank, ‘We’re not in the business of buying a roster,’ to completely being in the business of buying a roster. You did this year what Ole Miss did a year ago, what Ohio State did a year ago. You are trying to go that path of buying a roster to win now. I have no idea if it’s sustainable. It worked for Ohio State. It can also blow up in your face like it did for Ole Miss.” That’s a quote. LSU went from morals to money moves in one offseason.
The last time we saw this blueprint play out? 2024 Ole Miss. Lane Kiffin swiped half the Power 5 with transfer portal Thanos-level energy. Walter Nolen, Princely Umanmielen, Juice Wells—they had more stars than Hollywood. Everyone crowned them the chosen ones. But when it came down to it, they folded like a lawn chair against Kentucky. Meanwhile, Ohio State pulled the same portal magic, but with structure. Will Howard led that squad like a vet, Judkins was trucking defenders, and they ended up snatching the Natty.
So here we are—LSU fans caught between a rock and a playoff dream. Kelly’s reputation is on the line. $18M on the books. So will it work? Or will LSU’s superteam end up as a cautionary tale, with a cap that falls short? If it does go sideways, Kelly doesn’t have a second act. He knows it too.
LSU’s NIL plans shaken as key booster backs off after Bryce Underwood miss
Just when LSU thought they’d found their cheat code, the controller slipped. The Bryce Underwood saga sent shockwaves through Baton Rouge—and straight into the bank accounts. The five-star QB, once locked in with LSU, did a full-blown flip to Michigan after getting lured by a reported $12 million NIL offer. That’s $3 million a year. For a high school senior. And LSU’s most famous donor? Yeah, he’s not thrilled.
On the May 27th episode of ‘After Further Review: LSU,’ attorney Gordon McKernan didn’t mince words when asked about the new pay-for-play landscape. “You’re going to get those one-offs like Bryce Underwood… you just gotta take your wounds, lick, and move on,” he said. Translation? LSU’s not trying to play tug-of-war with billionaires.
Underwood wasn’t just any recruit. He was the guy. A perfect 100-rated prospect on 247 Sports. He had committed to LSU and was reportedly going to make around $1.5 million annually. Then came Dave Portnoy, stirring the NIL pot, and Larry Ellison—yeah, the Oracle billionaire—dropping bags like it’s Monopoly money. Michigan came and pulled off a full-on heist.
That’s when LSU’s collective started to flinch. Gordon McKernan, arguably the face of the Tigers’ NIL push, admitted things might not be sustainable. Especially with the House v. NCAA settlement looming, which will cap Power Conference player payouts at $20.5 million. Out of that, roughly $15.5 million goes to football alone. Sure, collectives can still toss NIL cash around, but with revenue sharing on the books? It’s like budgeting a yacht party on a lifeboat.
And LSU’s already spread thin. McKernan hinted that relying on big-time donors for every five-star chase isn’t going to fly long-term. “I do think it’s going to be a lot,” he said, “but I do think there’s still going to be some supplement by donors.” The problem is—those donors don’t want to lose bidding wars to Silicon Valley tycoons every offseason.
That Underwood flip did more than just sting—it set off alarms. Suddenly, the Tigers’ entire NIL strategy got thrown into question. It was one thing to build a championship roster with $18M and some savvy adds. But if every Bryce Underwood becomes a bidding war, LSU might be outgunned before the season even starts.
And with the NCAA’s new era about to pop off, Kelly and Co. can’t rely on booster miracles anymore. The 2025 season is the final test of whether portal-heavy roster building can bring a natty—or just rupture the boat’s hull. Because if the $18 million gamble doesn’t pay off, and LSU misses the playoff again? Not even a booster rescue will save Brian Kelly’s job. It’s do or die. One thing’s for sure—LSU isn’t playing the same game anymore. And the house always wins… unless you’re betting with Ellison money.
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