Overview

• Multiple outlets report the buyout in the $45–$50 million range, which would be the second-largest ever for a fired NCAA football coach after Jimbo Fisher’s $76.8 million at Texas A&M.
• Penn State athletic director Pat Kraft said the athletic department, not the broader university, will fund the exit package.
• Franklin’s 2021 contract reportedly requires him to diligently seek new work in coaching, scouting or broadcasting and to pursue the maximum reasonable salary.
• The agreement includes standard offset provisions that would reduce Penn State’s payments by the amount Franklin earns in a new compensated role through the contract’s original term.
• Reported calculations peg the figure at about $8 million per season through 2031 plus the remainder of this season, after Franklin was dismissed following three straight losses and a drop from a top-three start to unranked.