Penn State head coach James Franklin officially has an ‘amended’ contract after Friday morning’s unanimous decision by the Penn State Board of Trustees Committee on Equality and Human Resources.
There are no drastic changes to Franklin’s contract which was signed in November 2021, but it does put language in his contract to accommodate the expanded playoff which the previous contract did not have. When Franklin originally signed that contract, there were only four teams in the playoff and his contract stated he was set to receive the following regarding the College Football Playoff and bowl games:
- $200,000 – Appearance in any bowl game
- $300,000 – Appearance in one of the four CFP matchups, but not the semifinals
- $400,000 – Appearance in the CFP Final Four
- $500,000 – Runner-up, CFP National Championship game
- $800,000 – Win CFP National Championship game
The terms of the amendment werenโt disclosed at the meeting, but this amendment was pressing as the CFP field will be announced Dec. 8. This matters because Penn State currently sits at No. 4 in the CFP poll and with the No. 6 seed.
Franklin could see some positive transactions hit his bank account as the season wears on in addition to what he could receive with success in the CFP.
He is set to receive a retention bonus Dec. 31 in the amount of $500,000 which is all but guaranteed barring anything drastic happening. Should Michigan beat Ohio State and the Penn State head to Indianapolis for the Big Ten Championship, Franklin would earn $250,000 for the appearance, a win and he’d get $350,000 and if he were to win Big Ten Coach of the Year, he’d get $100,000.
Franklin and his Penn State team take on Maryland at 3:30 p.m. Saturday for the final regular season game at Beaver Stadium. His current contract runs through 2030.
