Publish Date : 14-Jan-2014
James Franklin will be making a lot of money at Penn State, more than Bill O'Brien made, but it will not cost him a lot to buy out his contract if he decides to leave the job.
Franklin received a 6-year contract making him one of the top highest-paid coach in the country. This is how his salary breaks down: in 2014, $4 million; in 2015, $4.1 million; in 2016, $4.2 million; in 2017, $4.3 million; in 2018, $4.4 million; and in 2019, $4.5 million.
This comes to a total of $25.5 million or an average of $4.25 million per year. O'Brien was making $3.3 million a year.
Franklin's base salary starts at $1.3 million and goes up $100,000 each year. He will receive $2.2 million per year for TV and radio compensation and $500,000 per year from Nike.
The coach's buyout is one concern many had with hiring Franklin is that he's such a hot coaching candidate that he could leave Penn State for another job in a couple of years.
His buyout cost at the end of each calendar year is at: in 2014, $5 million; in 2015, $5 million; in 2016, $2.5 million; in 2017, $2 million; in 2018, $1 million and in 2019, $1 million.
O'Brien's buyout for the NFL job was $6.7 million after the 2013 season, which wasn't a hindrance for a team that wanted his services. The Houston Texans paid that amount to hire him.
So if an NFL team wants to hire Franklin either next year or later, his $5 million buyout is not so steep.
Franklin said, "I think we got a fair contract for Penn State, I think it's a fair contract for James Franklin."
Looking at other aspects of his contract, he will receive a $300,000 "retention bonus" on Dec. 31 of each year that he remains at Penn State.
Also, he can make $1 million per year in performance incentives, including $200,000 or $300,000 for appearing in what traditionally is called a BCS bowl game.
He could make from $150,000 up to $350,000 for winning a Big Ten division title or playing in the league championship game.
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