Who are Penn State’s top earners? See where university leaders, coaches rank
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- James Franklin led Penn State payees with $8.6 million in total compensation in 2024-25.
- Athletics accounted for five of the top seven highest-paid positions in 2024–25.
- Penn State disclosed top salaries under expanded RTKL rules covering the 2024–25 year.
Penn State’s annual Right-to-Know report shows that athletics once again dominated the university’s highest-paid positions, with former head football coach James Franklin at the top of the list for fiscal year 2024-2025.
According to the university’s recently-released report that covers July 1, 2024 to June 30, 2025, athletics accounted for five of the top seven compensation packages, though only two remain employed with the university after a year that saw tremendous coaching shakeups, including Franklin’s firing in October. Franklin’s compensation package stood at $8.57 million and was about five times larger than President Neeli Bendapudi’s, who was paid $1.6 million and falls seventh on the list.
When Franklin became head coach at Virginia Tech, Penn State negotiated a settlement for his buyout that gave him roughly $9 million, a source with knowledge of the situation previously told the Centre Daily Times. New Penn State football coach Matt Campbell is set to make $8 million in base salary plus supplemental compensation this year, according to his contract terms.
Penn State men’s basketball coach Mike Rhoades was the third highest-paid employee for the 2024-25 fiscal year, making $3.5 million.
Penn State is required to annually disclose the top 25 highest paid compensations under the state’s Right-to-Know Law. The disclosure requirements were expanded in 2023 when House Bill 1556 was signed into law, requiring state-related universities to provide additional financial transparency, including the top 175 salaries paid.
The rankings are based on total compensation, which combines base compensation, bonus and incentive compensation, other reportable compensation, retirement and deferred compensation and nontaxable benefits.
Combining base salary with additional compensation and benefits significantly affected the rankings. Franklin received $7.3 million in bonus and incentive compensation, which made up nearly 85% of his $8.57 million total compensation package and helped place him far ahead of every other employee listed.
Former Penn State Health CEO Stephen Massini ranked second on the list, making a total of $3.6 million, despite serving for only part of the reporting period before retiring in October 2024. Nearly $1 million of that total came from retirement and deferred compensation, the largest such amount among executives listed.
Since the report includes officers, directors, trustees (who are not paid for their work as trustees), key employees and the highest compensated employees between July 1, 2024 and June 30, 2025, Massini, Franklin and others remain on the list.
Deborah Addo, who stepped in as interim CEO of Penn State Health after Massini, landed eighth on the list, making $1.5 million in total compensation during the reporting period.
Top officers, directors, key employees and highest compensated employees
The following list of employees with the highest paid compensation includes base salary, bonuses and incentives, retirement and nontaxable benefits. An asterisk next to the name indicates the employee is no longer working in the university.
- James Franklin*, head football coach, $8.6 million
- Stephen Massini*, CEO Penn State Health (part year), $3.6 million
- Michael Rhoades, head basketball coach, $3.5 million
- Andrew Kotelnicki*, football coach, $3 million
- Patrick Kraft, vice president for intercollegiate athletics, $1.8 million
- Thomas Allen*, football coach, $1.6 million
- Neeli Bendapudi, Penn State president, $1.6 million
- Deborah Addo, interim CEO of Penn State Health (part year), $1.6 million
- Sara Thorndike, senior vice president for finance and business/treasurer, $670,000
- Andrew Read, senior vice president for research, $583,000
- Tracy Langkilde, executive vice president and provost, $569,000
- Michael Wade Smith, senior vice president and chief of staff, $515,000
- Justin Schwartz*, former executive vice president and provost, $440,000
- Virginia Teachey, assistant treasurer and associate vice president for budget and finance, $389,000
- Jody Murawski, assistant treasurer and director of treasury, $278,000
- Shannon S. Harvey, AVP and secretary of the board of trustees, $252,000
- Heather Wilson, assistant secretary and senior executive assistant for president, $214,000
- Kimberly Fisher, assistant treasurer and director of financial officers, $199, 000
Salaries of highest paid officers and directors of Penn State
- Neeli Bendapudi, Penn State president, $1.6 million
- Sara Thorndike, senior vice president for finance and business/treasurer, $670,000
- Andrew Read, senior vice president for research, $583,000
- Tracy Langkilde, executive vice president and provost, $569,000
- Michael Wade Smith, senior vice president and chief of staff, $515,000
- Justin Schwartz*, former executive vice president and provost, $440,000
- Virginia Teachey, assistant treasurer and associate vice president for budget and finance, $389,000
- Jody Murawski, assistant treasurer and director of treasury, $278,000
- Shannon S. Harvey, AVP and secretary of the board of trustees, $252,000
- Heather Wilson, assistant secretary and senior executive assistant for president, $214,000
- Kimberly Fisher, assistant treasurer and director of financial officers, $199, 000
The full list of top paid employees can be viewed in Penn State’s Right-to-Know report.
