Penn State Athletics negotiated former head football coach James Franklin’s contract buyout down from around $49 million to $9 million in the aftermath of his reported deal with Virginia Tech, per the Centre Daily Times’ Jon Sauber. Full contract details of Franklin’s deal with Virginia Tech remain unknown.

Penn State owed Franklin his full $49 million buyout if he did not secure another coaching job by the end of the year. That total would have been offset by Franklin’s new job, but the sides agreed to a $9 million flat payment to end the saga.

Franklin was fired on October 12 after a disastrous 3-3 start for Penn State, capped off by back-to-back losses to UCLA and Northwestern.

About the Author

Oscar Orellana

Oscar is a third-year broadcast journalism student from Los Angeles. He's probably at the movies. He mostly writes about Penn State football. Email him at oscar@onwardstate.com.

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