James Franklin consents to a Penn State extension: View the complete terms of the ten-year agreement.
James Franklin hinted that during the previous few days, news would be released. After Penn State’s victory over Rutgers last weekend, the coach didn’t want to discuss it. During his press conference on Tuesday afternoon, he expressed no desire to discuss it. He mentioned that following practice on Wednesday, he might have something to discuss.
Franklin’s base pay remained fixed at $500,000 in his most recent contract extension, but his supplemental compensation was set to increase annually until 2025. Franklin’s new contract provides him with an annual supplemental payment of $6.5 million on top of his base salary of $500,000. That implies Franklin’s guaranteed total yearly compensation will be $7 million per season.
Franklin will also receive an annual loan of $1 million for life insurance, along with a $500,000 retention bonus on December 31. Franklin’s most recent contract extension included a life insurance loan for the first time.
An NFL team or other organization would need to pay Penn State $4 million to buy out Franklin’s contract in order to hire him this season. That number climbs substantially under Franklin’s new agreement, but it soon starts to fall.
The $12 million buyout offered by Franklin through April 1, 2022, is unaffordable. After that, it decreases to $8 million until December 31, 2022. In 2023, the buyout drops to $6 million, and in 2024 and 2025, it drops to $2 million. Franklin’s buyout is $1 million through the expiration of the deal in 2026.
Those figures wouldn’t completely dissuade elite programs with well-funded backers from pursuing Franklin for a new position.
If Franklin was fired by Penn State without good reason, the university would have to reimburse Franklin for his outstanding base pay, supplemental benefits, and life insurance loan. That amount of change would be substantial.
