Penn State Paid James Franklin $50 Million to Just Go Away

They say that the best way to get fired is with guaranteed years on your contract, and that was certainly the case for James Franklin on Sunday.

Penn State announced that they have fired Franklin, who coached the Nittany Lions since 2014. Associate head coach Terry Smith is taking over the reins for Penn State, who have dropped their last three straight games and lost starting quarterback Drew Allar for the season.

Saturday’s loss to Northwestern was the breaking point for Penn State, who fired Franklin despite his $49 million contract buyout.

The Nittany Lions had legitimate aspirations to win a National Championship this season. In the Big Ten, Michigan won a title in 2024 after returning a roster of veterans and current Minnesota Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy. Just last year, the Ohio State Buckeyes won a title because of their own veteran roster and transfer portal quarterback Will Howard elevating the roster.

Penn State fit that same mold coming into this season. After being bounced in last season’s College Football Playoff, they returned several key starters as well as their quarterback, Allar, who wanted to bring a championship to Happy Valley.

Oregon got the best of Penn State in overtime during the last weekend of September, where Dan Lanning and Dante Moore were able to outduel Franklin and Allar. The Nittany Lions couldn’t bounce back and were shockingly upset by UCLA the very next week.

The Northwestern loss was the straw that broke the camel’s back. For years, the word on Franklin’s Nittany Lions was that they could not win big games — namely against Big Ten rivals like Ohio State and Michigan.

But dropping games to Oregon, UCLA and Northwestern proved that the program had plenty of deeper issues, especially factoring in legitimate championship aspirations.

"Penn State owes an enormous amount of gratitude to Coach Franklin who rebuilt our football program into a national power,” a statement from Penn State said. “He won a Big Ten Championship, led us to seven New Year's Six bowl games and a College Football Playoff appearance last year. However, we hold our athletics programs to the highest of standards, and we believe this is the right moment for new leadership at the helm of our football program to advance us toward Big Ten and national championships.”

The Nittany Lions were supposed to be a force this season — and now they are paying their head coach nearly $50 million just to stay away from the program.