Ed Orgeron owes ex-wife $8 million of LSU buyout, Supreme Court rules

Former LSU football coach Ed Orgeron will have to pay his ex-wife half of his contract buyout from the school, according to a new Louisiana Supreme Court decision.

Orgeron must pay $8.13 million from the money LSU paid him as part of his buyout after leaving the school in 2021, following a Friday ruling.

The high court in Louisiana cited language in the contract of the extension Orgeron signed with LSU on Jan. 14, 2020, when he and his now ex-wife were still married.

Orgeron filed for divorce 43 days after signing the deal, according to the Baton Rouge Advocate.

Louisiana Supreme Court Justice Jefferson Hughes delivered the ruling.

“The coach and his wife were given the comfort, the assurance, the confidence, and the peace of mind, that even if his coaching was terribly unsuccessful, or even if for other reasons that could not be labeled as ‘for cause,’ the school felt the need to part ways, he would not do so empty handed,” Hughes wrote in the 5-2 majority.

“This comfort and peace of mind inured to the benefit of both husband and wife in the college football coaching business,” Hughes added.

“Because this security blanket was provided for in the Employment Agreement, effective during the community, it was community property as would be any other community asset.”

Orgeron led LSU to the College Football Playoff national championship following the 2019 season following the Tigers’ historic undefeated run led by quarterback Joe Burrow.

But the team struggled to a 5-5 finish during the Covid season in 2020 and only marginally improved to a 6-7 mark in the 2021 campaign.

LSU announced midway through that season that Orgeron would depart the football program at the end of the year, and Brian Kelly took over in 2022.

Orgeron’s wife’s attorney made the case that she was entitled to half of the coach’s LSU buyout since it was finalized when they were still married.

They argued the raise Orgeron received, up to about $7 million per year at the time, was partially paid for his past performance during the period when he and his wife were together.

Orgeron’s lawyer argued his 2021 contract extension was compensation for future work at LSU, and thus should not have been considered part of the post-divorce settlement.

A district court and an appeals court ruled in Orgeron’s favor initially prior to the dispute reaching the Louisiana Supreme Court agreeing to hear the argument.

(Advocate)

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