Penn State gives new deal to James Franklin worth $5.73M per season

Penn State has approved a new six-year contract extension for football coach James Franklin, the school announced Friday.

Franklin will average $5.73 million annually over the length of the new deal, his agent told ESPN’s Chris Low.

Franklin was scheduled to make $4.7 million this year under his previous deal. The new contract places Franklin among the five highest-paid coaches in college football along with Alabama’s Nick Saban, Michigan’s Jim Harbaugh, Ohio State’s Urban Meyer and Florida State’s Jimbo Fisher.

Franklin’s deal will total $34.3 million over its six years.

After back-to-back 7-6 seasons in Franklin’s first two years in Happy Valley, the Nittany Lions won the Big Ten last year. Penn State finished 11-3 and No. 7 in the country after starting 2-2, capping the program’s best season in the post-Joe Paterno era with a 52-49 loss to Southern California in the Rose Bowl. A blowout loss to Michigan last September had Penn State fans doubting Franklin’s ability to turn around a program that was still recovering from NCAA sanctions brought on by the Jerry Sandusky scandal.

Athletic director Sandy Barbour was even compelled to give Franklin a public vote of confidence.

The deal has been in the works for months. It was given approval by the board of trustees on Friday.

“I am pleased with the progress our program has made in the community, in the classroom and on the field,” Franklin said in a statement. “I look forward to diligently working with President [Eric] Barron and Director of Athletics Sandy Barbour on implementing a plan that puts our University and our student-athletes in the best position to compete on the field and in life.”

Franklin replaced Paterno’s successor, Bill O’Brien, in 2014. The Pennsylvania native was 24-15 in three seasons at Vanderbilt before taking the Penn State job. Last season the Nittany Lions rebounded from a ragged and injury-filled start with a nine-game winning streak that included a come-from-behind victory in the Big Ten championship game against Wisconsin.

Franklin was named Big Ten Coach of the Year.

“James and his staff have done an exceptional job with our football student-athletes and in all aspects of the football program,” Barbour said. “His values are Penn State’s values and they resonate throughout every member of the organization and team he has built.”

Penn State has ESPN’s No. 3-ranked recruiting class for 2018, which would be its highest spot since ESPN began its recruiting rankings in 2006. The Nittany Lions have 13 commits from the ESPN 300 for next season.

ESPN college football reporter Chris Low and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

FOUR MONTHS BEFORE Nico Iamaleava shocked the college football world by leaving Tennessee for UCLA, signs of his discontent were apparent.

On Dec. 28, hours before the winter transfer portal window closed, Tennessee sources say Iamaleava’s representatives, including his father, Nic, reached out to the Tennessee NIL collective, Spyre Sports Group, and were looking to increase Iamaleava’s pay for 2025 to around $4 million. Hitting that target would put him closer to the amount eventually procured by transfer quarterbacks Carson Beck (Miami) and Darian Mensah (Duke) during the winter portal. Iamaleava was set to make around $2.4 million at Tennessee this year, sources said.

Sources close to the quarterback deny they were seeking $4 million.

Iamaleava wasn’t returning phone calls from coaches at this point. Sources close to the quarterback said he needed to take a “mental break” following the Vols’ 42-17 loss to eventual national champion Ohio State in the first round of the College Football Playoff, but they acknowledged that they did seriously consider entering his name in the portal.

Tennessee sources say they believe the Iamaleavas reached out to several schools, including Miami, Ole Miss and Oregon, to gauge interest. Tennessee coach Josh Heupel was seemingly able to smooth things over and keep Nico on board for 2025, but the quarterback did not receive a new deal or more money.

But while the deterioration of the relationship between Iamaleava and Tennessee was months in the making, the whirlwind that followed his decision to skip practice on April 11 — a day ahead of Tennessee’s spring game — and enter the transfer portal was dizzying.

Coaches and teammates attempted to reach him that day, a Friday, but were met with silence.

“As the day went on, it started to become obvious. He was gone and wasn’t coming back,” a Tennessee source said.

A little more than a week later, Iamaleava had signed with UCLA. A source described Iamaleava’s UCLA agreement as paying him less than what he was earning at Tennessee but more than the $1.5 million that some have reported. A day after UCLA announced Iamaleava’s signing, the Bruins’ expected starting quarterback, Joey Aguilar, left and reportedly joined … Tennessee.

It became the crystallization of college football in 2025 in which million-dollar quarterbacks can become free agents every season and Power 4 starters can essentially be swapped for each other. The ripple effects will be felt far into next season, when the fortunes of a Tennessee team with playoff aspirations and a UCLA squad under pressure to turn things around quickly hang in the balance.

How did a once-promising relationship between school and QB fall apart so swiftly? What does Iamaleava’s big move mean for UCLA? And what comes next for both sides after the most prominent college football breakup in recent memory?