LSU Tigers head coach Brian Kelly looks on Stephen Lew-Imagn Images

Brian Kelly reveals how much LSU’s roster costs for 2025

Originally posted on NIL on SI | By JC Shelton | Last updated Aug 22, 2025 11:55 AM ET

No. 9 LSU and head coach Brian Kelly intend to be extremely competitive in the NIL space as the Tigers aim to return to SEC contention and the College Football Playoff.

Kelly and Co. revamped the roster after a 9-win season in 2024, the first year of singe-digit victories in Kelly's three-year tenure.

Tigers faithful don't just expect win, they expect to be in the mix for the national championship. And adapt ing to the new revenue-sharing model is a must to a accomplish that feat.

Schools can share up to $20.5 million to student athletes this year and can work with third-party entities to increase that output. For LSU football, Kelly expects to share around $18 million to field his 2025 roster.

"We’re going to be just about $18 million,” Kelly said on Thursday during his radio show.

Maria Lysaker-Imagn Images

Talent isn't hard to find on LSU's roster, headlined by star quarterback Garrett Nussmeier. The SEC's leading returning passer ho lds an On3 NIL valuation of $3.8 million, the fifth highest in college sports.

Nussmeier will be throwing two multiple playmakers, including Aaron Anderson ($979,000 valuation) along with a pair of star transfers in Nic Anderson ($842,000) and Barion Brown ($968,000).

Defensively, All-SEC linebacker Harold Perkins leads the charge with an NIL valuation of $612,000.

LSU signed one of the nation's top transfer portal classes in the 2025 cycle as the House settlement was awaiting approval. Kelly personally matched every $1 million raised by the Bayou Traditions collective, giving the Tigers some ammunition to front-load revenue-share deals.

"We had a plan that, I think, was advanced for everybody else, and that was, we were going to front-load a lot of our players prior to revenue-sharing,” Kelly said. “We wouldn’t be in a position where we were, when we got to revenue-sharing, we couldn’t compete. A lot of this was front-loaded contractually where our players were able to – and for us, we were able to get to them before revenue-sharing, and then use revenue-sharing to kind of put them over the top."

LSU's NIL approach seems to have worked in adding and maintaining talent through the offseason. The focus has shifted to the gridiron, though, where the Tigers hold some lofty expectations to get back to the postseason.

Kelly and Co. will open the 2025 season at No. 4 Clemson on Aug. 30 at 7:30 p.m. ET (ABC).

This article first appeared on NIL on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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