James Franklin Is Now Being Paid By Penn State And Virginia Tech
ByJoey Heldon November 25, 2025inArticles›Sports News
When Penn State fired former head coach James Franklin earlier this season, it gained national media attention for two reasons. First, Penn State was a play away from making last year’s title game in the College Football Playoff. A coach getting fired so soon after a season like that is a rarity. Second, Franklin had one of the largest buyouts the college football landscape has ever seen.
The Nittany Lions initially owed Franklin about $50 million as part of his buyout. However, the coach and school negotiated a reduced rate, and Penn State will instead pay Franklin $9 million. It’s still a lot of money, but far less than they were on the hook for at first.
Meanwhile, Franklin just accepted a new job at Virginia Tech. The Hokies offered him a five-year deal worth $41.75 million. It’s an average of $8.35 million per year but is back-loaded, so Franklin will make more money annually down the line. Year four will be $12.75 million, and the final season will give him $13.25 million, which is about what Kirby Smart , the highest-paid coach in college football, is making this year.
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That means Franklin is making $50.75 million from both Virginia Tech and Penn State. Two schools paying him, even though he’s no longer coaching at one. It’s every coach’s dream!
Because Franklin has a nice cushion with his Penn State buyout, he negotiated a clause in his Virginia Tech contract that gives his assistant coaching staff a healthy pay raise. Under previous coach Brent Pry, Virginia Tech assistants made a collective $8.5 million. That salary coaching pool will increase to $15.5 million now that Franklin is in charge.
Franklin was in attendance during the Hokies’ final home game of the season against the Miami Hurricanes. He’s meeting with recruits and getting to know players who will be on the roster next season.
Penn State fired Franklin after a 3-3 start to the season. Virginia Tech has only won three games all year, sitting at 3-8 near the bottom of the ACC standings. Franklin will certainly have his work cut out to turn the program around, but he’ll also likely have lower expectations to start. Combined with two paychecks regularly coming in, that’s not a bad deal at all.
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- College Football Coaches Received A Record $228 Million In Buyouts This Year
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