Ed Orgeron, Joe Burrow and the LSU Tigers were the talk of college football this season. The Tigers not only won the College Football Playoff championship over the Clemson Tigers at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans, they took home numerous awards from the Heisman Trophy to Coach of the Year honors.
Burrow is all but a lock to become the first overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft and instantly become a multi-millionaire, while former LSU Tiger Odell Beckham was spotted handing out wads of cash to LSU players after the national title game. (Don't worry, NCAA, the school says it was "fake" money.)
LSU head coach Ed Orgeron, too, netted a hefty payday for winning the national championship game. Orgeron earned a $500,000 bonus for the 42-25 win on Monday night in front of the hometown Louisiana crowd.
That check is in addition to the $1.25 million Orgeron earned in bonuses this year on top of his $4 million base salary, according to USA Today Sports. That brings his final tally to a whopping $5.75 million this season.
The half-million-dollar bonus is double the $250,000 Clemson coach Dabo Swinney would've received if Trevor Lawrence was able to topple LSU. Still, Swinney made $9.3 million this year.
Orgeron's national title bonus is pretty standard among SEC football coaches. Alabama's Nick Saban can earn $800,000 for winning a national title, and Florida's Dan Mullen can cash in a $400,000 bonus for doing the same.
LSU did the unthinkable in the regular season and postseason and never let its foot off the gas. On top of winning their fourth national championship, the Tigers beat seven AP top-10 teams, including Alabama, Georgia, Florida, Auburn and Oklahoma in the CFP Semifinal game. They were also the first team in SEC history to finish 15-0.
Though the offense behind quarterback Joe Burrow was unstoppable all season long, LSU had superstars all over the gridiron.
Safety Grant Delpit won the Jim Thorpe Award given to the country's best defensive back. Wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase won the Fred Biletnikoff Award for the most outstanding receiver in the NCAA. Even running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire improved from last year to rush for more than 1,400 yards.
The tandem of LSU offensive coordinator Steve Ensminger and passing game coordinator Joe Brady was dynamite as well. Burrow threw more touchdowns than anyone in college history, LSU averaged 48.4 points per game and Brady won the Broyles Award for the nation's top assistant coach.
LSU's Ed Orgeron had plenty of help, but he orchestrated one of the greatest seasons we've ever seen by a college football team and deserves every penny LSU gives him.
