Court Rules That Ed Orgeron's Ex-Wife Deserves $8 Million From LSU Buyout

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The Louisiana Supreme Court handed down a ruling Friday that said Ed Orgeron's ex-wife, Kelly Orgeron, is entitled to half the money that the coach received from his LSU buyout, awarding her $8.13 million.

The state's high court pointed to language in Ed Orgeron's term sheet with LSU that said it was a legally binding contract when he signed it Jan. 14, 2020, at the time he and his wife were still married. Orgeron filed for divorce 43 days after signing the deal. That contract included provisions for the coach's buyout if he was fired without cause, which happened the next year in 2021.

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“The issue in this case is uncomplicated,” McCallum wrote in an 11-page dissent. “All of the sums Mr. Orgeron received post-community — whether in the form of salary, supplemental salary, incentive compensation or liquidated damages … were received by Mr. Orgeron for work he performed after the termination of the community property regime. It is all his separate property.”

Ed Orgeron signed a contract extension with LSU shortly after winning the College Football National Champion in 2020, which raised his salary to roughly $7 million annually. Orgeron signed the extension the month before he filed for divorce, but the LSU board of supervisors did not approve it until the divorce proceedings were underway.

That contract extension paved the way for Orgeron's $17 million buyout when LSU fired him in 2021.

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