FOOTBALL

USC Morning Buzz: Who Foots A Massive Buyout?

A lot of people are saying Lincoln Riley is gone if USC loses 2-3 more games.

But they never say who will pay for it?

One guy who has the money and contacts among USC’s well-heeled crowd is Rick Caruso, but he seems far more interested in the mayor’s race and his projects in upper-class communities than USC football, even though he spoke at Lincoln Riley’s introductory press conference.

He did make a video the day of the San Jose State game. “The Trojans have a helluva team this year. Coach Riley is very optimistic. I think we’re going to have a great season.”

The current biggest donor to USC is trustee Mark Stevens, who is a minority owner of the Golden State Warriors. He has donated nearly $300 million, including a $10 million donation to the football building, to the university.

But he just gave $200 million to USC for AI research and most of his donations have been toward academics or the medical school.

Anyone else? Anyone?

  • Here’s a stat you won’t get from Lincoln Riley: USC ranks No. 193 in yards per carry.
  • I don’t know if I’ve ever given a team straight F’s on the report card before but I’ll never forget the time I gave USC’s special teams a “DF” during the Paul Hackett Era.

It wasn’t a D. It wasn’t an F. It was the initials of USC special teams coach Dan Ferrigno.

33 thoughts on “USC Morning Buzz: Who Foots A Massive Buyout?”

    2. Bingo! People forget that USC put in a lot of money so that USC could have expensive seating options and to upgrade the general experience with the idea of pulling in the better part of nine figures a year with the astronomical prices, and the dynamic pricing that would go that much higher with demand.

      At any rate USC isn’t out of money, the athletic endowment, or rather multiple athletic endowments has hundreds of millions of dollars if not breaking a billion (I’ve heard different numbers), but the point is to live off of some of the earnings and appoint endowments to pay for particular things, and constantly add more, not to just spend. And the department is making money, revenue at HH is up 60% over just the last three-year span, but with a winning football program it could have been double that.

      Point is: With attendance being what it is, firing money makes money, rather than just costing money, and USC has the money to pay for the investment.

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  2. Like 67 said, SC is bleeding money with Riley at he helm do to him refusing to play anyone that isn’t a glorified JC school, not winning games he should, etc etc. SC is competing with not one but TWO NFL teams, TWO NBA teams, TWO MLB teams, TWO NHL teams, they have to put a product on the field that people will want to spend money and time to come see live. And the longer they wait, the more chance that a really good coach will get snapped up by another school.

    How can the AD and administration wait if SC is embarrassed on Saturday and next week ? Are they going to wait until Chesney makes Riley look like a fool with a backup QB and patchwork roster that plays 1000 times harder andnbetter than his does ?

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    1. KAM: And when Pat Haden was AD he had the chance to blow up the Coliseum and make it a $3 billion state of the art stadium like SoFi…

      DON: Instead he tried to make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear.

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      2. Hmmm not so fast Gab, the LA Memorial Coliseum is truly iconic not just for all the events that have happened there ovetvl the last adt century but because of its’ design.

        Go look at what ‘Soldier Field’ looked like before thd ‘Bauhaus’ hip crew destroyed its’ classical exterior lines.

        SOFI is stunning on the outside but one of these days there’s going to be a need to evacuate and not one fan will have any idea how to ascend to get out of that pit.

        We here in ‘LA’ are trululy blessed to have 2 of the most historic venues left in the entire USA.

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      3. KAM: Iconic = obsolete.

        DON: I went to the Oregon game and was reminded the ancient stadium was built for watching Olympic track and field, not football.

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  4. What I am worried about is there anyone out there that would be the right kind of coach without wanting the ridiculous contract Riley has. I see a lot of retreads and guys fired from other jobs. It seems very quiet in the athletic department. No speeches about supporting the coach etc. makes me think they are trying to find a fix but are trapped in a corner

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    1. That’s a good point – personally, if I was in charge, any contract would be performance/incentive based and would have a clause that would have avoided the situation they are in now with the Coyote (not that hard to do and any coach with integrity would have no issue with it – to the effect of but not precisely “Program Minimum Expectations are X. Failure to meet or exceed X in consecutive seasons is grounds for immediate termination and voiding of all monies due.”).

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      1. Unfortunately, one incentive clause worked against our favor. My understanding is that he received a one-year extension when USC made the pac-12 championship game his first year.

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  5. “The Trojans have a helluva team this year. Coach Riley is very optimistic. I think we’re going to have a great season.”

    Wow! Caruso really said that?! Just goes to show you don’t necessarily have to be very smart to do well in life, financially speaking.

    Richard Branson once said, “A lot of what has gotten me where I am boils down to luck.”

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  6. Scott, we don’t need someone to donate 70 million, we just need 10,000 more paying fans at each home game next year to pay down the ten million a year that USC will owe LR for the next five years. And, as an employee of the university, he could be assigned tasks like fundraising or any other job on campus. If LR doesn’t like the work, he can quit and move on with his life. The question will become, who replaces him? Fight on, Dan, Class of 1962

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  7. SC has 20+ billionaires. if buyout is $55 mil as recently reported, if each gave $2-3 million, we have the buyout. if some very rich, but not billionaires, contribute then we can lower the billionaire share.

    billionaire pays half (a little over $1 million each), then the very rich can make up the rest. if they can get 50 donate around $500k we can get there. if there are even more very rich guys (say 50-100) each member can pay even less.

    seems doable.

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    1. Would love it and even more so if they doubled their contributions in order to pay for the new coach (assuming one of sufficient quality is offered the position – perhaps they could make that a condition of their contribution so we can avoid another Coyote, Gomer, et al)! I would chip in, but … ya know …

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    3. further, it is my understanding that it isn’t a lump sum. it is paid out as regular salary over the next 5 years (rest of contract).

      billionaires – $25 mill class share, $1.2 mil each yr over 5 years = each commits to $250k per year for next 5.

      50 very rich – $30 milll class share – $600k each over 5 years = 120k each yr for next 5. if more than 50 even less.

      it is likely riley will get some job so he can keep his career going. even a $5 mil/year would drastically reduce the numbers of above through offset.

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  8. wolfman, the odds of Lil’ Lord Rilery finishing by winning 3 of last 4 is very low, finishing 8-4 is far more likely. he’s no dummy, so he knows he’s probably cooked, so him moving on seems likely, SC will prob end up owing him 2-3 mil a yr only after his new contract is signed. but why is no one seriously talking about Sneaky Pete coming back? he’s got more energy than 99% of 75 yr olds, and is lurking on campus still. plus he can rely on his boys to do much of work, setting them up for jobs in future. sounds like a win, unless SC can snag a real up and comer. wolfman Pete wont publicly talk about any interest he has…only you and your vast network of informants could crack this story!!

    #GiveUsTheSweeetScooop!!

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    1. UChuckLA! – I mentioned Pete in a comment about a week ago, but as in what it must be like for him to be on campus and watching this clown show … I’d guess he has no interest and even if he did, judging by how such things have typically played out, he wouldn’t enjoy the same type of success … nevertheless – it is certainly exhilarating to think of Pete returning like Diocletian from his gardening to set things right again … but again, guessing that won’t or even couldn’t happen … so it’s back to who to hire next (know BK is sold on Coach Eck, and I sure like what I see in that … I have suggested Missouri’s Eli Drinkwitz … but just anyone that can make the world right again will do … you know, meet the perfection standard and rival drubbing requirement and all of that! haha) …

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  9. Funny, how this got removed, so the $60M lump sum fantasy can continue to be presented as a hurdle:

    USC would pay out Lincoln Riley’s massive buyout over time rather than in a lump sum, a structure common to high-profile college football contracts and similar to how the university has structured previous coaching departures.

    Why an Over-Time Payout is Standard Practice

    Because USC is a private university, the exact language of Riley’s 10-year, $110 million contract remains confidential. However, sports business experts and media analysts highlight why a lump sum is highly improbable if USC moves on from him:

    Mitigation Clauses: standard college coaching contracts require the fired coach to actively seek new employment. Whatever the coach earns at their next job (such as a rumored landing spot like Baylor) is then subtracted from what the original school owes them month-by-month.

    Because of the massive buyout, USC’s ideal scenario is a “negotiated settlement” or having Riley voluntarily take another job (such as rumors tying him back to the Big 12). If he leaves voluntarily, his buyout is completely waived, saving the university tens of millions.

    I would be SHOCKED if Riley was honorable to leave voluntarily.

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  10. KAM: George Lucas’s net worth is estimated at $5.3 billion as of September 2026. He has already donated $175 million to Southern Cal to support its film school, along with additional donations totaling $20 million for r a c i s t “diversity” scholarships.

    DON: Name the Coliseum after him and it’s a done deal.

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  11. I just want Jeff Stoutland as the OL/TE/Run Game Coordinator – he has been the best coach at those crucial positions and is a teacher, is humble and likes working with young players.

    OC, Carson Palmer. Passing game, back on track without needing to play 7 on 7 football.

    Grant Olson of NDSU as co-DC with Ed Ogeron.

    HC could be a lot of people, as long as they get what USC football is all about. I’d take Kris Richard – his Secondary would be solid, he’s outgoing, loves to engage, and he gets team culture building, is organized, is at ease with media and isn’t ever flustered – and I would hope he brings Ryan Nielsen to help on defense with those titles we throw around today like Assistant Head Coach to make the job appealing.

    There are a lot of interchangeable parts above, but that’s the point, no one person leaving would send the program into a tailspin.

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  12. Scooter,

    SC needs to fire his ass at the end of the season. When he asks for his paycheck, SC presents him a list of expenses that need to be paid by him since he demanded them. SC should never pay this fraud another penny.

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  13. FAKE GABBY, AKA GOTROLL22, SAID SHE WOULD PAY GOOD MONEY TO SUCK DANNY’S C O C K …..OUCH!

    SLO CAL AND MAUI_FRAUD WOULD BE

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