Penn State football coach James Franklin agrees to 10-year, $75 million contract

Nov. 23—Penn State football coach James Franklin has agreed to a 10-year, $75 million contract that extends through the 2031 season and that was approved Tuesday by the Board of Trustees compensation subcommittee.

Franklin will be paid $7 million in each year of the new contract, plus a $500,000 retention bonus after each season. It makes him the highest-paid coach in the Big Ten.

Franklin declined to talk about his new contract or even acknowledge it during his weekly press conference three hours before the subcommittee meeting. Penn State athletics later released a statement from him accompanying the announcement.

"Penn State's future is bright and I'm honored to continue to serve as your head football coach," Franklin said. "Nine weeks ago, the administration approached me about making a long-term investment in our football program.

"This prompted numerous conversations outlining the resources needed to be competitive at a level that matches the expectations and history of Penn State. What's most evident from those conversations is the importance of our student-athletes' success both on and off the field."

The 49-year-old Franklin is in the second year of a six-year contract, which is worth $38.2 in guaranteed money through 2025. He's making $5.5 million this year and is scheduled to receive a $500,000 retention bonus on Dec. 31.

Franklin's name has been mentioned in reports as one of several candidates for head coaching jobs at USC and LSU since September. He's frequently deflected questions regarding those reports and his future at Penn State.

But he's made repeated public pleas for Penn State to invest more in the football program, especially with its facilities, to better compete with such programs as Alabama, Clemson and, of course, Big Ten rival Ohio State.

"We are excited to have James Franklin lead our football program for a long time," said director of athletics Sandy Barbour. "We will continue our collective efforts to constantly improve in all aspects of our program. We have made, and will need to continue to make, significant investment in our football program because we believe we have a very bright future under James.

"With this contact, we are signaling our sustained commitment to being one of the premier programs in the history of college football."

Michigan State coach Mel Tucker, who's in his second year with the Spartans, reportedly has agreed to a 10-year, $95 million contract. Tucker's agent is Jimmy Sexton, who Franklin hired earlier this year.

Coincidentally, Penn State (4-4 Big Ten, 7-4) finishes the regular season against Michigan State (6-2, 9-2) Saturday at 3:30 p.m. (TV-ABC) in East Lansing, Mich.

Franklin arrived at Penn State in the throes of NCAA sanctions and has guided the Lions to a 67-32 record in eight seasons, including a Big Ten championship, three 11-win seasons and three New Year's Six bowl games from 2016-19.

Penn State went 4-5 last year after losing All-America linebacker Micah Parsons, who opted out of the season, and leading rusher Journey Brown, who was forced to retire because of a medical condition.

The Lions opened this season 5-0, including wins over No. 18 Wisconsin and Auburn. They were ranked fourth in The Associated Press Top 25 before losing four of their next five games by 18 points to Iowa, Illinois, Ohio State and Michigan.

Franklin changed agents in the summer, he said, leaving longtime representative Trace Armstrong. He hired Sexton, who also represents Tucker, Nick Saban of Alabama, Lane Kiffin of Mississippi, Kirby Smart of Georgia, Steve Sarkisian of Texas and Dan Mullen, who was fired Sunday by Florida.

It's unclear what assurances Franklin received from Barbour or the trustees. They might include increased salaries for his coaching staff, renovated facilities or even new ones. He mentioned such items as academic support, community outreach, student-athlete housing, technology upgrades, recruiting and the training table in the statement released by Penn State.

"We have to compete the 364 other days a year (besides game day) with everything," he said Tuesday before his new contract was formally approved. "Everything matters. It's pretty easy on social media to track kids (recruits) and where they're going and what they're doing and what they're seeing.

"I'm very appreciative of the strides that we made, but there was a long period of time where we did nothing and it put us behind. We've been playing catch-up."