Penn State football’s James Franklin is the third-highest paid coach in the newly expanded Big Ten.
Franklin makes $8.5 million per year in guaranteed compensation, which places him behind only Ohio State head coach Ryan Day and USC’s Lincoln Riley, whose Trojans are playing their first Big Ten season.
That figure ranks Franklin No. 13 nationally, according to USA Today, which released its annual database of college football coaching salaries on Wednesday. Georgia’s Kirby Smart is the nation’s highest-paid coach at just under $13.3 million per year.
Franklin’s base salary of $7.5 million is supplemented by a $500,000 annual retention bonus and a $1 million life insurance policy. He also can earn an extra $1.4 million per year in incentives, which includes $350,000 for winning a Big Ten Championship and $400,000 for making the College Football Playoff.
Franklin’s guaranteed compensation is about $500,000 short of the Top 10 nationally, just behind Tennessee’s Josh Heupel, Missouri’s Eliah Drinkwitz and Mississippi’s Lane Kiffin. The Big Ten’s Riley is the nation’s fourth-highest paid head coach at $10.04 million with Ohio State’s Day just under him at $10.02 million.
James Franklin’s success with Penn State football
Franklin is 94-39 overall in his 11th season at Penn State, which includes one Big Ten Championship and no playoff appearances. He has won at least 10 games five times − each one likely to have produced a playoff bid under the new 12-team format.
His No. 4 Lions moved to 6-0 for the second straight season after a thrilling 33-30 overtime victory Saturday at USC. They will now enjoy an off-week before traveling to Wisconsin on Oct. 26.
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