Who are the top paid employees at Penn State? See where coaches, directors rank
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Football coach James Franklin is highest compensated employee at $8.6 million.
- New state law expands required disclosure to top 175 highest paid employees.
- President Neeli Bendapudi ranks fourth in compensation at $1.4 million annually.
Penn State head football coach James Franklin is the highest paid employee at the university, according to the school’s recent Right to Know Law Report filing for the 2023-2024 fiscal year, with other top athletics employees following closely behind.
Franklin — who signed a six-year contract in February 2020 — made $8.6 million. The report includes base compensation, bonus and incentive compensation, other reportable compensation, as well as retirement and other deferred compensation, and nontaxable benefits. Penn State men’s basketball coach Mike Rhoades was the second highest paid, with $4.2 million.
The state-related university is largely exempt from the state’s Right to Know Law but is required to release the top 25 highest paid employees annually under the RTKL. When House Bill 1556 was signed into law in 2023, that required additional disclosures to be made with the annual filing, including the top 175 salaries paid. This is the first filing since the law went into effect that includes that information.
The filing includes officers, directors, trustees (who are not paid for their work as trustees), key employees and the highest compensated employees between July 1, 2023 and June 30, 2024. Because of that, some employees who are not currently at Penn State appear in the list.
For the first time, Penn State wrestling coach Cael Sanderson’s compensation is public. He was the seventh highest paid employee, at $1,017,300. Financial terms were never disclosed after Sanderson signed an extension in 2022.
Penn State President Neeli Bendapudi is also on the list; she’s the fourth highest compensated employee at $1.4 million.
Officers, directors, key employees and highest compensated employees
The compensation for the employees listed below includes base salary, bonuses and incentives, retirement and nontaxable benefits. An asterisk denotes that the employee is not currently with the university.
James Franklin, head football coach, $8.6 million
Michael Rhoades, head basketball coach, $4.2 million
Stephen Massini*, CEO of Penn State health, $1.6 million
Neeli Benadpudi, Penn State president, $1.4 million
Patrick Kraft, vice president for intercollegiate athletics, $1.4 million
Michael Yurcich*, assistant football coach, $1.2 million
Cael Sanderson, head wresting coach, $1.01 million
Justin Schwartz*, executive vice president and provost, $702,282
Eric Barron*, former university president, $647,052
Sara Thorndike, senior vice president for finance and business/treasurer, $600,157
Andrew Read, senior vice president for research, $504,269
Michael Wade Smith, senior vice president and chief of staff, $445,914
Virginia Teachey*, assistant treasurer and associate vice president for budget and finance, $352,492
Nicholas Jones*, former executive vice president and provost, $243,426
Shannon Harvey, AVP and secretary of the board of trustees, $217,578
Heather Wilson, assistant secretary and senior executive assistant, office of the president, $184,534
Kimberly Fisher, assistant treasurer and director of financial officers, $176,846
Michele Spangler, assistant treasurer and director of treasury, $155,628
Salaries of all officers and directors of Penn State
Neeli Benadpudi, university president, $950,000
Sara Thorndike, senior vice president for finance and business/treasurer, $520,008
Virginia Teachey*, assistant treasurer and associate vice president for budget and finance, $303,881
Kimberly Fisher, assistant treasurer and director of financial officers, $153,707
Michele Spangler, assistant treasurer and director of treasury, $124,758
Shannon S. Harvey, assistant vice president and secretary to the board of trustees, $149,057
Heather Wilson, assistant secretary and senior executives assistant, Office of the President, $113,834
Angelita Johnson, assistant secretary and executive assistant, Office of the President, $86,594
Kim Wright, assistant secretary and subaward coordinator, Office of Sponsored Programs, $43,286
This story was originally published June 3, 2025 at 3:27 PM.
