Penn State would owe James Franklin an absurd buyout if they fired him for losing to Indiana

James Franklin isn’t going anywhere after Penn State lost to Indiana, mostly because he just signed a huge extension with the Nittany Lions.

Penn State started the 2020 campaign with a dud of a performance against Indiana, losing on a controversial two-point conversion in overtime.

For some, the season-opening loss only added to fatigue around head coach James Franklin. Who has won 56 games for the Nittany Lions, but hasn’t proven able to lift the program to the next level.

A loss on opening weekend this year may be enough to keep Penn State out of the playoff conversation once again.

Let’s be serious though, it’s not nearly enough for Franklin to get the boot.

Penn State would owe James Franklin tons of money to fire him any time soon

First of all, Franklin has won 11 games in three of the last four seasons. There may have been some disappointment, but no program is going to willingly part ways with a coach who as produced that much success.

That’s exactly why Penn State locked up Franklin with a six-year extension last December.

Like it or not, the terms of that extension will keep Penn State from firing Franklin for a long while. Even if things got exponentially worse for the head coach this year, it would take an utter disaster to justify the ax.

Franklin would be owed a buyout of $38.4 million this year, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. The head coach is owed guaranteed more than $5 million for each year of his contract. Even future buyouts would have to include paying that money, plus a $1 million life insurance loan.

Basically, Franklin isn’t likely to get fired over one, two or even three losses. He isn’t likely to get fired this year or next. Penn State is in it with him for the long haul.

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