Fansided

College football’s top 25 highest-paid coaches for 2020 season

By Nick Villano

Nick Saban of the Alabama Crimson Tide with Ed Orgeron of the LSU Tigers (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
Nick Saban of the Alabama Crimson Tide with Ed Orgeron of the LSU Tigers (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) /
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James Franklin – Penn State Nittany Lions (Photo by Scott Taetsch/Getty Images) /

14. James Franklin – Penn State

  • 2020 Salary: $5.4 million

James Franklin has Penn State in the top five at some point seemingly every season. He’s picked up where Bill O’Brien left off after his short stint in Happy Valley after the transition from Joe Paterno and taken the program to the cusp of the College Football Playoff.

In six seasons as the leader of the Nittany Lions, he has three seasons with 11 wins and three top-10 finishes. Franklin is the most underpaid of coaches with his background and track record of success. He’s one of the best coaches in the league, and annually has his name mentioned at the biggest openings and potential openings in the country. It’s almost an annual tradition of “James Franklin to USC” rumors picking up.

Plus, he just signed this contract in February. The Nittany Lions have to pay him a $300,000 retention bonus at the end of the season. He gets a raise every season for the remainder of his six-year deal. Honestly, he deserves it.

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