James Franklin signed a new 6-year contract back in December, and on Wednesday the Nittany Lions announced the terms of that deal.
The contract, which helpfully runs from Jan. 1, 2020 through Dec. 31, 2025, will start at $5.4 million per year and rise to a top end of $6.5 million. The school will also pay an annual retention bonus each Dec. 31 -- starting at $300,000 in 2020, then moving to $500,000 thereafter -- while also making a $1 million annual loan to Franklin's life insurance policy.
All told, Franklin will earn $6.7 million in total compensation for coaching Penn State in 2020.
The 6-year contract is worth $44.2 million in guaranteed compensation in sum, an average of $7.37 million per year and topping out at $8 million in 2025.
Franklin's bonus structure runs from $100,000 for winning a Big Ten Coach of the Year award to $800,000 for leading the Nittany Lions to a national championship.
The coach would owe $5 million if leaving the school in 2020 and nothing if he left in 2025. The school-end buyout is his total guaranteed pay for that current year multiplied by the number of contract years remaining.
Franklin, 48, is 56-23 with one Big Ten title, three New Year's Six appearances and three AP Top 10 finishes in six seasons leading the program. Since 2016, Penn State is 42-11 overall and 28-8 in Big Ten play.
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