The Year 2 Details of Penn State Coach James Franklin's Contract

Penn State coach James Franklin signed a new six-year contract in 2020. Here's what he's due in 2021.

Penn State coach James Franklin will enter the second year of his latest contract Jan. 1 with a raise of at least $300,000.

Franklin is scheduled to earn at least $6 million, including a $500,000 year-end retention bonus, if he remains Penn State's coach through 2021. That's part of the six-year contract he signed in early 2020, before the COVID-19 pandemic threw life, and college athletics, into tumult.

The contract guaranteed Franklin at least $38.2 million, not including incentives or a $1 million annual loan for life insurance, over its six-year span. Though Penn State asked athletics employees to take pay cuts in 2020 (Athletic Director Sandy Barbour said she took a 15-percent reduction), no coaches have stated publicly whether they agreed to salary concessions.

Franklin is scheduled to receive a $100,000 salary increase in 2021, from $5.4 million to $5.5 million in guaranteed pay. He also is scheduled to receive a $500,000 annual retention bonus on Dec. 31, 2021. Franklin's contract included a 2020 retention bonus of $300,000, which was payable Thursday.

In addition, Franklin's buyout, should he leave for an NFL or another college coaching position, lowers from $5 million to $4 million in 2021.

Here's an expanded look at what Franklin is due annually according to the contract:

Total Guaranteed Annual Compensation

2020: $5.4 million

2021: $5.5 million

2022: $5.75 million

2023: $6 million

2024: $6.25 million

2025: $6.5 million

Annual Retention Bonus (payable Dec. 31)

2020: $300,000

2021: $500,000

2022: $500,000

2023: $500,000

2024: $500,000

2025: $500,000

Incentives ($1 million maximum per year)

Win College Football Playoff national championship: $800,000

CFP runner-up: $500,000

Qualify for CFP: $400,000

Win Big Ten championship game: $350,000

Qualify for New Year's 6 bowl game (not a semifinal): $300,000

Big Ten championship-game appearance: $250,000

Win/tie for Big Ten East title (no championship-game appearance): $150,000

National coach of the year: $150,000

Big Ten coach of the year: $100,000

Voluntary Buyout (payable to Penn State if Franklin leaves for another job)

2020: $5 million

2021: $4 million

2022: $3 million

2023: $2 million

2024: $1 million

2025: None

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Mark Wogenrich
MARK WOGENRICH

Mark Wogenrich is Editor and Publisher of AllPennState, the site for Penn State news on SI's FanNation Network. He has covered Penn State sports for more than two decades across three coaching staffs and three Rose Bowls.