LSU has blinked.

After a month of foot-dragging aimed at getting former head coach Brian Kelly to accept a reduced buyout, LSU has finally fired Kelly without cause , according to Pete Thamel of ESPN.com.

The move means that LSU owes Kelly every penny of his $54 million buyout.

LSU had delayed firing Kelly. Along the way, it had reportedly offered him a buyout lower than the amount owed. At one point, LSU allegedly suggested that Kelly could be fired with cause.

Kelly eventually forced the issue, filing a lawsuit seeking a judicial declaration that no cause existed for terminating him. More recently, Kelly’s lawyer’s reportedly accused LSU of keeping him from finding another job by not firing him, with or without cause.

Basically, LSU finally cried “uncle.” (Or perhaps the

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