Penn State Sports Magazine
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2 4 J A N U A R Y 2 0 2 2 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M you guys what I know so that when I say something, it's going to happen." Three days later, that something did happen. Announced late in the afternoon on Nov. 23, Penn State formalized a 10- year contract extension with Franklin. A restructuring of the prior deal he had signed following the 2019 season, the new terms extend through the end of the 2031 campaign. With the news that Franklin had signed the extension, a story that began in earnest in the middle of September finally reached its end. And it did so with relatively few significant changes. Compared to the previous deal and its escalating compensation structure, Franklin's new agreement provides steady income. Beginning on Jan. 1, his guaranteed compensation will be $7 mil- lion annually, with incentives worth an- other $1.5 million kicking in as retention bonuses and in the form of an annual loan for life insurance. All told, every completed year of Franklin's continued employment at Penn State will bring him $8.5 million, with additional tiers maxing out at $1 million for on-field achievements and coaching awards. The bump, at least temporarily, put Franklin among the na- tion's 10 highest-paid college football coaches. The practical differences between the new and old contracts were decidedly less notable, though. Earning $7 million through the end of 2021 before incentives, Franklin will see his pay jump to $8.5 million in 2022. Under the previous contract, however, Franklin was set to earn $7.25 million in 2022, making his actual raise $1.25 mil- lion for '22, with the annual compensa- tion difference shrinking by $250,000 for an apples-to-apples raise of $3.5 million total through 2025. On the whole, Franklin's new pact has increased his total compensation over the next four years from $30.5 million to $34 million. That works out to an 11.4 percent raise. Meanwhile, the buyout terms changed slightly from those in the previous con- tract. The buyout had been set for $3 million in 2022 and $2 million in 2023 if Franklin wanted to leave, but now he or his future employer would be on the hook for $12 million through March 2022, $8 million through Dec. 31, 2022, and $6 million through 2023, before dropping to $2 million in 2024 and '25, and then $1 million through 2030. But in both the accompanying press release and Franklin's first media appear- ance after the announcement, attention was directed elsewhere. One of the focal points for the coach and Penn State was the push for continued investment in the program. Franklin noted that there had been extensive conversations regarding "the resources needed to be competitive at a level that matches the expectations and history of Penn State." He added that there was broad agree- ment between himself, athletics direc- tor Sandy Barbour, university president Eric Barron and the board of trustees that Penn State needed to be proactive in ad- dressing the program's needs. "We've been able to create a roadmap of the resources needed to address aca- demic support; community outreach; Name, Image and Likeness; facility im- provements; student-athlete housing; technology upgrades; recruiting; train- ing table and more," Franklin said. "This renewed commitment to our student- athletes, community and fans reinforces all the reasons I've been proud to serve as your head football coach for the last eight years and why my commitment to Penn State remains steadfast." Barbour echoed the sentiment, shift- ing the focus primarily to the improve- ments that the university will be looking to make in the years ahead. "We are excited to have James Franklin lead our football program for a long time," Barbour said in a prepared statement. "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 invest- ment in our football program, because we believe we have a very bright future under James. "With this contract, we are signaling our sustained commitment to being one of the premier programs in the history of college football. Our goals and aspira- tions relating to football have never wa- vered, and our investments today and in the future of our program will allow us to compete at the highest level." What that road map looks like has not yet been formalized or announced. Already underway, however, is a Lasch Building renovation that will cost nearly $50 million. The weight room is set for expansion to go along with sports medi- cine improvements and a new player lobby on the back side of the football complex. In the immediate wake of the contract extension, Franklin emphasized that progress is expected in a variety of areas for the program moving forward. "It's all of it. It's recruiting, it's facili- ties, it's scheme, it's coaching, it's funda- mentals, it's strength and conditioning, it's nutrition — it all matters," he said. "Sleep, the dormitories — it's everything. If you get three or four more blue-chip recruits a year, over four years, that adds up. Once they get on campus, if you have everything you need to develop them, those little margins that you're scratching and clawing for, they all add up. "We've been really close in some games. We've been really close in terms of getting into the playoff, been ranked pretty high at times. We've got to be able to sustain it, and that's what this is all about." ■ "We've been able to create a roadmap of the resources needed to address academic support; community outreach; Name, Image and Likeness; facility improvements; student-athlete housing; technology upgrades; recruiting; training table and more." F R A N K L I N