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Sporticast: LSU Owes $17 Million in Dead Money to Fired Football Coach

On the latest Sporticast episode, hosts Scott Soshnick and Eben Novy-Williams discuss some of the biggest sports business stories of the week, including LSU’s firing of football coach Ed Orgeron. One of the NCAA’s highest paid coaches, Orgeron was fired “without cause” and will be paid a buyout of nearly $17 million through 2025.

Orgeron’s LSU tenure was marred with a handful of off-field scandals, including criticism over his handling of sexual assault allegations against his players, and a handful of impermissible benefits from boosters that resulted in punishment from the NCAA. That said, it was losing that eventually cost him his job. After leading the Tigers to an undefeated season and national title in 2019, Orgeron has struggled since. LSU went 5-5 last year, its worst season in two decades, and is 4-3 right now. He is just the latest college football coach to be fired with a public university on the hook for millions in buyout money.

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The hosts also talk about Sportico‘s NHL franchise valuations, which were released last week. The rankings have the Toronto Maple Leafs atop the league at $2 billion, and the Arizona Coyotes at the bottom at $410 million. The average NHL franchise is worth about $930 million.

Lastly, the hosts close with a conversation about LeBron James-backed SpringHill, which just raised money at a $725 million valuation, and a new job for famed sports lawyer Jeffrey Mishkin.

(You can subscribe to Sporticast through Apple, Google, Spotify or wherever else you get your podcasts.)