James Franklin is now in some very heady financial company.
Friday morning, Penn State’s Board of Trustees Committee on Compensation, as expected, unanimously approved an amended contract for their head football coach. While no details were released -- that’s expected to happen later today -- it’s believed the amended deal will extend through the 2023 season. Franklin’s old contract ran through 2019.
Additionally, Bruce Feldman of SI.com is reporting that the new six-year deal will average $5.8 million annually. What Franklin’s compensation for 2017 and beyond will, again, be divulged later on today.
The average of $5.8 million a year would make him the fourth-highest-paid coach in college football, behind only Alabama’s Nick Saban and a pair of fellow Big Ten coaches -- Ohio State’s Urban Meyer and Michigan’s Jim Harbaugh.
Set to enter his fourth season with the Nittany Lions, Franklin has an overall record of 25-15 at the school. After a pair of 7-6 seasons to begin his tenure, 2016 was a breakout one for the program as they went 11-3 and won the Big Ten championship for the first time since 2008.
Expectations are extremely high coming off that breakout season as the Nittany Lions are ranked sixth in the preseason coaches’ poll.