Lane Kiffin and the No. 8 Ole Miss Rebels are preparing for the Week 9 game against the Oklahoma Sooners this weekend. After suffering their first defeat of the season in a 43-35 loss to Georgia last weekend, the Rebels are focused on regaining their dominant form with a bounce-back win.
The drive to improve to 7-1 remains high, but concern over potentially losing Kiffin to Florida has unsettled the Ole Miss community. Meanwhile, Kiffin’s agent, Jimmy Sexton, is reportedly working to secure a record-breaking deal for him.
Florida’s Record-Breaking Deal for Lane Kiffin
As Kiffin is being seen as the successor of Billy Napier at Florida, Gator Bait’s Buddy Martin revealed details about UF’s reported offer to Kiffin.
“The deal they put on the table we found out from a really well-placed source and six years, $13.5 million for Lane,” Martin said. “Now you might have heard of the figures, and they’re probably true, but that’s just don’t get it confused with what Jimmy Sexton’s asking for.
“I’m told I don’t have this in black and white Jimmy wants you to know what’s 15 million in six years whatever it is. But yeah here’s the thing old man’s would like to go above that 11 point, go above that and then offer more they can’t.”
“The deal they put on the table… 6 years 13.5 million for Lane.”
Gator Bait’s Buddy Martin (@buddyshow) on the details of Florida’s reported offer to Lane Kiffin ⬇️ @WJOX945 | #CollegeFootball pic.twitter.com/JJ3pX0Bc9V
— 3 Man Front (@3ManFront) October 24, 2025
If Kiffin accepts the $13.5 million annual salary, he will become the highest-paid coach in college football, surpassing Georgia’s Kirby Smart ($13 million) and Ohio State’s Ryan Day ($12.5 million).
The timing of this offer is also interesting, as Indiana locked in head coach Curt Cignetti with a massive eight-year, $93 million contract extension last week. That deal made Cignetti the third-highest-paid coach in the country and also gave other top coaches like Kiffin leverage in their own negotiations.
However, Kiffin isn’t running after money, as he made his motive clear to ESPN insider Molly McGrath.
“When I pressed him about the leverage that these job openings create for him, he said: ‘I’m never going to make decisions based on money, I’m going to make decisions based on everyday happiness’” McGrath said during ESPN’s “SportsCenter” on Friday. “And you can tell he’s really trying to prioritize his family and his kids in this one.”
Make no mistake, McGrath also confirmed that Kiffin plans to address the Florida rumors directly with his players.
“He’s going to talk to them about it and say: ‘Hey, this is what happens when you win,’” McGrath said. ‘“This is a compliment to our players, our staff and our entire program.’ He wants to talk to his players about it because there’s so many new guys on their team this year that haven’t dealt with it before.”
Even former Florida head coach Steve Spurrier hasn’t stated it outright, but his comments suggest he believes Kiffin would succeed at Florida. Kiffin has also long admired Spurrier and has openly said he aspires to be like him.
But Kiffin’s departure from Ole Miss remains a big shot. All signs currently indicate he will stay with the Rebels under a record-breaking deal. Meanwhile, his daughter, Landry, may again play a role in that decision, as she previously convinced him to remain at Ole Miss when Auburn came calling.
Max contract is 4 years per MS state law.