Nov 26, 2022; College Station, Texas, USA; LSU Tigers head coach Brian Kelly and Texas A&M Aggies head coach Jimbo Fisher talk prior to a game at Kyle Field. Mandatory Credit: Maria Lysaker-USA TODAY Sports

Following his decision to fire LSU football coach Brian Kelly, Scott Woodward is now at least partly involved in two of the biggest coaching contract buyouts in college football history.

LSU football fired Kelly on Sunday, Oct. 26, following a 49-25 blowout loss to Texas A&M. Kelly is now owed a buyout of approximately $54 million — on its face, the No. 2 priciest buyout in college football history.

(That said, Kelly also has a duty to mitigate by looking for employment elsewhere, which could significantly reduce the actual cost LSU owes in firing him).

Still, Woodward — a 1985 graduate from LSU — was the one who hired Kelly away from Notre Dame in 2021. Four years into his tenure in Baton Rouge he's now paying him to stay away from the program.

Of course, Woodward was already tangentially linked to the largest buyout in college football history after he lured Florida State football coach Jimbo Fisher to Texas A&M in 2017.

Here's what you need to know about Fisher and Kelly's buyouts, and how Woodward played a role in both:

Scott Woodward buyouts

Woodward lured Kelly away from Notre Dame to LSU in 2021 with a contract that — while not fully guaranteed — did include a substantial buyout if he was fired without cause: 90% of his remaining base salary and supplemental compensation, plus any pro-rated longevity bonuses due for the year of a potential firing.

Before Woodward hired Kelly to LSU, however, he was involved with another massive contract, for another can't-miss coaching hire, at an entirely different school. In 2017, Woodward signed Fisher to a 10-year, fully guaranteed $75 million contract.

Fisher was able to secure another significant buyout in September 2021, three days before the start of the season — and two years after Woodward had left Texas A&M for LSU to replace Joe Alleva in 2019.

The Aggies, then under the leadership of athletic director Ross Bjork, signed Fisher to a four-year, fully guaranteed extension in 2021. That doubled Fisher's buyout figure from $45.6 million to $95.6 million at the time. Just two years later, Fisher was fired by the Aggies, and awarded a $76.8 million buyout.

So while Woodward is not directly responsible for the largest buyout in college football history, he was the athletic director who brought Fisher to Texas A&M in the first place, eventually paving the way for the largest buyout in history.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: LSU AD Scott Woodward now has hands in college football's two largest buyouts ever

Reporting by Ehsan Kassim, USA TODAY NETWORK / USA TODAY

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