Penn State Football head coach James Franklin has been the head coach of the Nittany Lions football team for 11 seasons in Happy Valley. Franklin holds a career record of 118-54 and a record at Penn State of 94-39. In 10 completed seasons at Penn State, Franklin has reached double-digit wins in five seasons, including the past two seasons.
In 2024, Franklin already has the Nittany Lions bowl eligible and ranked number three in the AP Poll, the highest ranking for the Nittany Lions since the 2017 season when Franklin’s program reached number two in the country.
Before it’s too late, Penn State must extend James Franklin’s contract to keep him in Happy Valley for years to come.
James Franklin Contract Situation
James Franklin is only in his third year of a $70 million guaranteed, ten-year extension that he signed after the 2021 season that is not set to expire until the end of 2031.
However, the contract was signed in a much different state than James Franklin and the Nittany Lions are currently in.
When Franklin signed his extension in November 2021, the Nittany Lions were coming off of back-to-back disappointing seasons and were just 11-11 in their last 22 games. With that, some of the details of James Franklin’s contract could now create issues for Penn State.
For example, James Franklin’s buyout to leave Penn State for another job in either college football or the NFL sits at just $2 million in 2024 and 2025 and drops to only $1 million for the remaining six years of his current extension.
Another example is James Franklin’s salary, which ranked eighth at the time that Franklin signed his extension, but now ranks 13th in the country at $8.5 million per year.
Why James Franklin must extend James Franklin now
Penn State and athletic director Pat Kraft would be smart to rework James Franklin’s contract now instead of waiting for a few reasons.
James Franklin and Penn State are now 27-5 since the end of the 2021 season, with a final ranking of 7 in 2022 and 13 in 2023. This could make James Franklin a hot commodity on the market when major jobs start opening.
First, James Franklin’s buyout for leaving Penn State is essentially non-existent at just $2 million for the next two years and $1 million per year for the remainder of the contract.
With Franklin outperforming many other coaches at top schools around the country (see Penn State’s win over Lincoln Riley’s USC Saturday), he could be a hot commodity on the coaching market when other top jobs open.
As reported by Ben Jones of SI.com, “Of the people who might know, most of them were convinced [James Franklin to USC in 2021] nearly happened, but that’s water under the bridge.”
However, with the potential of the USC job opening again with Lincoln Riley underperforming, and Florida, Florida State, and other top jobs potentially opening, Penn State would be smart to increase his buyout to leave to give the Nittany Lions more firepower in any retention discussions.
Second, Franklin now ranks 13th in salary among FBS coaches. Franklin’s $8.5 million salary ranks behind Kentucky’s Mark Stoops, Mizzou’s Eli Drinkwitz, Tennessee’s Josh Heupel, Ole Miss’ Lane Kiffin, Florida State’s Mike Norvell, and USC’s Lincoln Riley.
While State College sits in a relatively inexpensive area of the country, Franklin could be enticed to leave with a higher salary elsewhere.
Third, Penn State finally has the “alignment” that James Franklin has wanted during his tenure at Penn State.
Franklin’s last extension was negotiated by Penn State’s last athletic director Sandy Barbour. Now under new athletic director Pat Kraft, James Franklin feels more “alignment” than ever before at Penn State.
In December 2023, Franklin described it as “we’re operating now at a level more consistently with the programs that we should be competing with.” In November 2023, Franklin noted, “I believe we’re better positioned now… than ever before, based on the alignment that I think we have for the first time.”
Alignment with Pat Kraft helped him secure the ability to hire offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki, kicked off major Beaver Stadium renovations, and is leading Penn State into the NIL era. If Kraft is able to continue that new alignment by restructuring James Franklin’s contract, it could keep him happy and away from looking at any other openings in the future.
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One of the criticisms on Franklin has been his inability to break through into the college football playoff field during the four-team era. However, Franklin has proved that he can build and maintain a top 12 team.
The Nittany Lions have finished in the top 12 of the college football playoff ranking in six of James Franklin’s 10 years in Happy Valley. With the expansion of the college football playoff to 12 teams, schools would be more than happy to hire Franklin to build a perennial college football playoff contender.
James Franklin’s contract is a great value at present for Penn State.
However, with a few reworkings, both Franklin and Penn State could benefit from the continued alignment within the program. If Pat Kraft is able to get an extension done before Franklin has even more success in the 12-team playoff era, it could benefit Penn State greatly for years to come and keep him in Happy Valley for a long time.
MORE: Drew Allar Targets James Franklin Critics After Thrilling USC Comeback
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