What will James Franklin’s new coaching job mean for his buyout at Penn State?
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Penn State fires James Franklin
The James Franklin era is over at Penn State.
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Former Penn State head coach James Franklin is set to become the next head coach at Virginia Tech, and it’s expected to help out the Nittany Lions financially.
Penn State negotiated a settlement for Franklin’s buyout in recent weeks, giving him roughly $9 million, according to a source with knowledge of the situation. That will replace the $48 million he could have been owed had he remained unemployed beyond 2025.
The originally reported $48 million was due to what Franklin was owed on the remainder of his contract ($48 million over six more years). The Nittany Lions would have been required to pay him his salary each year, essentially as if he was still employed. However, any contract Franklin signed in either media or coaching would have offset what he was owed.
For instance, if he signed a six-year, $30 million contract, Penn State would have had to pay him out the difference between that and the $48 million over that time frame.
Instead, he will be paid the $9 million. It will not be paid out in a lump sum, but will instead be spread out, according to a source.
That should greatly help the Nittany Lions as they chase their own new head coach. Whoever gets hired by Penn State will likely exceed the $8 million per year Franklin was making with the program.
Franklin was fired by Penn State on Oct. 12 after 11-plus seasons with the Nittany Lions. He went 104-45 in his time with the program, with a 3-3 record in 2025 and a three-game losing streak that led to his firing.
