What is James Franklin's Net Worth and Salary?
James Franklin is an American college football coach and former player who has a net worth of $25 million. James Franklin was the head coach for the Vanderbilt University football team before taking the same position at Penn State University in 2014.
Early Life
James Geoffrey Franklin was born on February 2, 1972, in Langhorne, Pennsylvania, to James Oliver and Jocelyn "Josie" Franklin. He attended Neshaminy High School and went to college at East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania, where he was quarterback of the football team for all four years. Franklin set seven school records and was a Division II player of the year nominee in 1994. That season, he was also named the National Player of the Week by "Sports Illustrated." In 1995, he earned his Bachelor of Science degree in psychology.
Coaching Career
In 1995, James Franklin became the wide receivers coach at Kutztown for a season before taking the job as the defensive backs coach at his alma mater. By 1996, Franklin became the offensive coordinator at Roskilde Kings, though he only held the position for a year before taking the job as a wide receivers coach for James Madison. He later coached various position groups at Washington State, Idaho State, and Maryland before moving up to coach the wide receivers room for the NFL's Green Bay Packers in 2005. In 2006, Franklin became the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach for Kansas State. Two years later, he returned to Maryland as the offensive coordinator, and, in 2011, Franklin scored his first head coaching job with Vanderbilt. In 2014, he took over the job at Penn State University after Bill O'Brien left to take a head coaching gig with the Houston Texans in the NFL.
As head coach of the Penn State Nittany Lions, James Franklin led them to the top of the Big Ten East Division in 2016 before winning the Big Ten Championship. He was named the 2016 Hayes-Schembechler Coach of the Year, Sporting News Coach of the Year, and the Woody Hayes Trophy winner.
Salary and Contracts
In November 2021 James signed a 10-year contract extension that came with a $500,000 signing bonus and guaranteed him $7 million per year in salary. If Penn State ever chooses to fire him, they would have to pay $8 million multiplied by the number of years remaining on the contract. In terms of guaranteed money, this contract made James the highest paid in the Big Ten and the ninth highest paid in college football overall.
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Personal Life
James Franklin first met his wife, Fumi, while serving as the Washington State tight ends coach in 1998. They were reintroduced years later when James took the job at Maryland, and they started their long-distance relationship that led to their engagement in Green Bay. The couple has two daughters together, Addy and Shola.
Philanthropy
In 2019, James Franklin was named Penn State's 43rd Annual Renaissance Fund honoree, and the dinner helped raise over $287,600 for endowed scholarships at Penn State.
Since his arrival to Penn State, Franklin's teams have volunteered hundreds of hours each semester to community service, including annual trips to the Penn State Children's Hospital to visit young kids battling pediatric cancers. He has spoken at every THON, a student-run philanthropy, since 2014 with his family supporting the cause with annual gifts, including a $10,000 donation in honor of former players.
James Franklin has been a longtime supporter of "Be The Match," hoping to encourage community members to join the national bone marrow registry.
Before Penn State's Cotton Bowl appearance in 2019, Franklin matched a $10,000 donation from Goodyear to the Children's Medical Center in Dallas.
