Brian Kelly gives candid statement on NIL impact in recruiting: 'It's about the most money I can get'

When LSU coach Brian Kelly took the podium for his National Signing Day press conference on Wednesday, he reflected on the whirlwind. The last week, he said, was like one he hadn’t seen before as the NIL era continues to evolve.

“Today feels more like Tax Day than it does Signing Day, scrambling the last few days,” Kelly said to start his opening statement. “It’s unlike any recruiting period that I’ve ever been involved in.”

This year’s National Signing Day saw plenty of changes. For starters, it takes place during Championship Week, which is earlier than years past. Most importantly, though, signees no longer sign Letters of Intent. Instead, as On3’s Pete Nakos reported, signing bonuses are “becoming the norm.”

With that, Kelly said recruits are looking for different things in schools than they did before. He sees the impact of the NIL part of the equation, and that’s why he added LSU has to adapt.

“I would be remiss if I didn’t say that, as I mentioned in my opening remarks, this is a new landscape that we are in in recruiting,” Kelly said. “‘New,’ when I say it’s not just about finding the right fit academically.

“It’s not just about finding the right fit where you can develop holistically and graduate and play for a championship. It’s about [what’s] the most money I can get, and that’s unfortunate. But it’s the world we live in, and you have to be able to adapt, and you have to be able to realign and be prepared.”

Brian Kelly: ‘We are in a new world’

As of Wednesday at 5:35 p.m. ET, LSU had the No. 6-ranked class in the country, according to the On3 Industry Team Recruiting Ranking. That includes three five-star prospects, headlined by Five Star Plus+ cornerback DJ Pickett – the No. 10 overall player from the 2025 cycle, according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies.

A big absence from that class, though, is quarterback Bryce Underwood. The No. 1 overall recruit, he flipped his commitment to Michigan last week and is preparing to receive a lucrative NIL package.

Brian Kelly acknowledged the commits who didn’t stick with LSU when recapping the class. But he also pointed out the “new world” college sports is entering, which he cited as a factor in those de-commitments.

“We have a class that is going to be represented in somewhere near 24, 25,” Kelly said. “There is still more that we think that is going to be added to this class in terms of freshmen. But many of those were committed prior to their senior year, in-state committed to us – nine out of 10 of them. We did lose a few of them, and it wasn’t because we didn’t recruit those players and offered them the opportunity to develop here holistically in all the areas that I just mentioned.

“But we are in a new world. So we had to pivot, realign and find how we could best continue to build this class.”