BATON ROUGE — LSU football coach Brian Kelly told reporters during his weekly press conference leading up to his team’s neutral-site, marquee nonconference matchup against USC in Las Vegas that his program was “too far down the line” to actually consider pulling out of the game.
The No. 12 Tigers will face the No. 23 Trojans in the Vegas Kickoff Classic at Allegiant Stadium, home of the NFL’s Las Vegas Raiders, Sunday (6:30 p.m. CT, ABC).
Kelly mentioned the “financial considerations” of LSU and USC playing to keep the game on the schedule and that’s for good reason.
By participating in the contest, LSU is set to make $5 million from ESPN Productions Inc., per records obtained by the USA Today Sports Network. LSU will be paid out within 30 days after playing the game, according to the deal.
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LSU agreed to purchase 20,000 tickets for its allotment at the average price of $185 per ticket. EPI will provide LSU with two complimentary, 20-person suites inside Allegiant Stadium for the contest, but the food and beverage cost falls on the school, per the contract.
Hotel rooms and other costs of transportation will also be picked up by LSU.
Accord to the agreement, Kelly and his coaching staff are contractually obliged to wear the event logo in a visible location during the game.
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Cory Diaz covers the LSU Tigers for The Daily Advertiser as part of the USA TODAY Network. Follow his Tigers coverage on Twitter: @ByCoryDiaz. Got questions regarding LSU athletics? Send them to Cory Diaz at bdiaz@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Lafayette Daily Advertiser: Here’s how much LSU football will be paid playing USC in season opener
