The nature of sports fandom is such that fans love engaging in subjective hypotheticals more than objective reality. GOAT debates, for instance. Such a prominent wrinkle in the discourse when chopping it up. Whether that’s with a stranger online or in a barbershop. When Ohio State completed their tryst with history and won the Natty, the nature of their run meant people were quick to shove them into the debate for the greatest CFB team ever. The rationale, albeit far-fetched, does exist. 

They were the first ones to do it against a 12-team playoff field. They rose above adversity after the Michigan embarrassment. But most importantly, they dominated the absolute gauntlet that stood between them and the hardware. Tennessee? Orange well and truly squashed into some OJ. Oregon? Flowers laid over their proverbial coffins at the Rose Bowl. Texas? Literally stripped off the football and their hopes. Finally, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish outfought. Ohio State’s point differential was historic. Their roster the most expensive ever assembled in CFB. The case for the ‘24 Buckeyes to be the GOAT is not unfounded. But one college football team makes and shall perpetually continue to make. All other contenders look timid. The legend and reverence of the 2019 LSU team supersedes everyone. 6 years on, it still continues to grow.

It’s still unfathomable how LSU really just had Ja’Marr Chase and Justin Jefferson flanking Joe Burrow on both sides. Greed is one of the seven deadly sins, mind you! An unblemished 15-0 record en route to the championship. Through an SEC field where Alabama was still considered king and Georgia was putting together a modern dynasty. ‘19 LSU is probably where the buck stops with the GOAT debate. Its key contributors are still shaping the makeup of modern football. Not just the three aforementioned, but also their defensive star, Derek Stingley Jr. They say you can’t buy bread with reputation and trophies. But Joe Burrow and co. have turned theirs into enough green to buy their fair share of loaves.

Joe Burrow is currently on a 5-year, $275M deal with the Cincinnati Bengals. When he signed this, in the aftermath of leading them to the Super Bowl, he was the highest-paid quarterback in the league—ever. Justin Jefferson is on $140M over 4 years. He, too, was the highest-paid wide receiver ever when he penned this deal. Derek Stingley signed on for 3 years, $90M. The highest ever for a cornerback. Now, Joe Burrow’s Bengals teammate Ja’Marr Chase has just been handed a cool $161M over 4 years, Becoming not just the new top-earning WR ever, but non-QB period. That’s $666 million for four members of that historic LSU side. A figure that’ll only go up as these players get their next set of contracts. The ex-Tigers got PAID, and its byproduct may yet help their alma mater.

Now, under the custodianship of Brian Kelly, LSU isn’t quite doing as well. That caliber of the team only gets assembled once in a generation, if that. However, the current iteration of the Tigers is a far cry from the Joe Burrow-led one. From Coach Kelly’s perspective, maybe there’s a way to mobilize a new generation of recruits that can help LSU football in 2026 and beyond using the aforementioned gaudy sum of $666 million.

Joe Burrow and the fabled 2019 team can indirectly trigger another generation of LSU stars

They say the NFL is a copycat league. Struggling teams follow the tactics of the successful ones. It’s cyclic. But could the effect of what’s transpiring over in the NFL permeate to CFB? If there’s one thing that attracts high school prospects more than NIL money, it’s programs with a history of developing NFL-level players. Alabama reaped the rewards of this for years under Nick Saban. Bama was a conveyor belt producing NFL players, and that made them attractive pre-NIL. Attracting high-level talent meant Bama, by natural extension, won more than anyone else, too. So, with LSU now boasting 4 of the biggest NFL superstars, who also are among the top-paid ones, that could become a tool in Brian Kelly’s arsenal in terms of recruiting. 

Middle school kids whose early football memories are seeing that the ‘19 LSU team of Burrow, Chase, Jettas, and Stingley are now about to become college athletes themselves. That nostalgia could be another factor in mobilizing players to Baton Rouge. Of course, it’ll be delusional to think it’s as straightforward. But campaigning around how joining LSU is advantageous in the sense of both reaching the NFL and getting paid once you’re there could be a shrewd move. Some food for thought for the LSU brass and Brian Kelly.

Whether their heroes help them land more potential ones or not, the LSU fans will always cherish that team. Sure, there’ll be some regrets that they only got one Natty out of those Avengers. Maybe if the playoffs had fielded 12 teams back in 2018, the Tigers would’ve been a dark horse. Alas, there’s a certain finesse to being one-and-done. LSU fans and Brian Kelly alike will hope they can catch lightning in a bottle one more time and assimilate a roster as good.