What was Joe Paterno's Net Worth and Salary?
Joe Paterno was an American college football coach who had a net worth of $10 million at the time of his death in 2012. Joe Paterno is best known for being the longtime football coach for the Penn State Nittany Lions. He was the head football coach from 1966 to 2011, during which time he recorded 409 wins, the most of any coach in the history of NCAA football. Paterno was fired in late 2011 in the aftermath of the Penn State child sexual abuse scandal.
Joe's legacy was permanently tarnished by the horrific scandal, which eventually saw former coach Jerry Sandusky sentenced to 60 years and several university officials also serve short sentences. What Joe knew and when continues to be the subject of debate. At the very least, it is factual that Joe knew Sandusky was observed molesting a boy in a shower in the Penn State locker room in 2001. Joe was informed of the incident by an assistant coach. Following University protocol, Joe informed his supervisor the next day. Police were never called, and Sandusky continued to have a key to school facilities and an office at the university for the following decade. Jerry Sandusky met his victims through a charity he founded called the "Second Mile," which served Pennsylvania's at-risk youth. Over a 15-year period between 1994 and 2009, Jerry molested boys he met through the charity. The boys were typically between 8 and 12 years old and did not have fathers. Joe Paterno died on January 22nd, 2012, just 72 days after being fired, from lung cancer at the age of 85.
Joe Paterno Salary History
According to the Pennsylvania State Employee Retirement System, thanks to his 60 years of service to the University, Paterno was entitled to 100% of the average of his three highest salary years, which was equal to roughly $550,000 per year for the rest of his life. At the peak of his coaching career, Joe Paterno earned an annual salary of $568,000. During his career, Joe also earned millions from various endorsement deals.
Early Life and Education
Joe Paterno was born on December 21, 1926, in Brooklyn, New York, to law clerk Angelo and homemaker Florence. As a youth, he went to Brooklyn Preparatory School, from which he graduated in 1944. Paterno was subsequently drafted into the US Army, where he spent a year before being discharged. He went on to enroll at Brown University. At Brown, Paterno played with the Bears football team as a quarterback and then as a cornerback. He graduated in 1950 with a degree in English literature.
Penn State Coaching
Paterno planned to attend Boston University School of Law before he decided to become a football coach at Pennsylvania State University. In 1950, he became an assistant coach to Rip Engle; later, in 1964, he was promoted to associate coach. Two years after that, Paterno became the head coach when Engle retired. He went on to lead the Penn State Nittany Lions to consecutive undefeated seasons in 1968 and 1969, with the team winning the Orange Bowl in both. Paterno had another undefeated season and Orange Bowl victory in 1973. Also during his tenure, the Nittany Lions won multiple Cotton, Fiesta, Citrus, Outback, and Alamo Bowls. The team also claimed the Liberty Bowl, Sugar Bowl, Aloha Bowl, Holiday Bowl, and Rose Bowl. Beyond his bowl wins, Paterno led the Nittany Lions to two national championships in 1982 and 1986. Following Penn State's entry into the Big Ten Conference in 1993, Paterno led the Nittany Lions to three Big Ten championship titles. Overall, with his 409 wins during his tenure, Paterno has the distinction of being the most victorious coach in NCAA football history.
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Child Sexual Abuse Scandal
In late 2011, Paterno was fired from his six-decade coaching job when he was implicated in the horrific Penn State child sexual abuse scandal. The scandal centered on his former defensive coordinator, Jerry Sandusky.
In 1998, the mother of an 11-year-old boy who participated in Sandusky's Second Mile charity for at-risk children called the police to report that Sandusky hugged her boy while they showered. A second boy came forward with the same allegation. Sandusky admitted to hugging the boys but denied it was sexual. According to grand jury testimony given before he died, Paterno denied having any knowledge of these incidents. However, emails from the time appear to tell a different story. In one email, the school's athletic director, Tim Curley, asked to be updated on the 1998 case because "coach is anxious to hear where it stands."
According to a 2010 interview conducted with investigators, in 2001, Penn State football assistant coach Mike McQueary witnessed Sandusky raping a boy, who appeared to be roughly ten years old, in the locker room of the Lasch Football Building. McQueary claimed he brought the incident up to Paterno the following day. One day later, Paterno apparently informed the school's athletic director, Tim Curley. No one called the police. In an email sent by Curley to Graham Spanier, Penn State's president, and Gary Schultz, the vice president of finance and business, Curley wrote:
"After giving it more thought and talking it over with Joe… we want to assist the individual [Sandusky] to get [him] professional help."
Paterno, Spanier, and Curley did, at that point, agree that Sandusky needed to be banned from bringing children to Penn State's football facilities. However, it would later be revealed that Sandusky was allowed to have a key for and continued to work out in the Lasch Building until November 2011 and had keys to other Penn State facilities.
In 2017, former school president Graham Spanier was convicted of one misdemeanor count of child endangerment. He fought the conviction for years, but in mid-2021, he finally spent 58 days in prison. He then had a period of home confinement that included wearing an ankle monitor. To this day, he claims he was never told that Sandusky was doing anything sexual with a minor in the shower. Athletic director Tim Curley and former VP Gary Schultz pled guilty to a misdemeanor child endangerment charge.
Amidst the controversy, Paterno chose to retire; however, before he could do so, Penn State's Board of Trustees terminated his contract, effectively firing him before he could quit.
Jerry Sandusky was arrested on 52 counts of child sexual abuse occurring over a span of 15 years. He was eventually convicted on 45 of 48 charges after several charges were thrown out. He was sentenced to 60 years in prison.
According to a report prepared by former FBI director Louis Freeh, Paterno was aware of Sandusky's crimes "as early as 1998" and still "failed to control Sandusky's access to the University's facilities and campuses. Although Paterno had reported Sandusky's abuse to his supervisor, it was felt that he had not done enough to stop his crimes. He would later claim that he followed what he believed was the proper protocol by informing his supervisor, then relying on him/them to investigate and report as appropriate.
Scandal Aftermath
Many consequences came in the wake of the scandal. At Nike's headquarters in Beaverton, Oregon, Paterno's name was removed from the Joe Paterno Child Development Center. A little later, the Joe Paterno statue outside Penn State's Beaver Stadium was removed. Additionally, the NCAA fined Penn State $60 million, banned the Nittany Lions from postseason play for four years and vacated all of the team's 112 wins between 1998 and 2011. Following many criticisms of these punishments and the preceding independent investigation – an investigation the Penn State Board of Trustees said ultimately amounted to "speculation" – the Nittany Lions' wins were restored in 2015.
Charity
Beyond football, Paterno was well known for his many charitable contributions to Penn State's academic programs. Along with his wife, he donated more than $4 million to various departments and colleges within the university and helped to raise more than $13.5 million for the expansion of Pattee Library, later renamed Paterno Library.
Personal Life and Death
In 1962, Paterno wed Penn State graduate Suzanne Pohland, whom he had met when he was serving as an assistant coach at the school. Together, they had five children: Joseph, Diana, Mary Kay, Scott, and David, all of whom graduated from Penn State. Joseph, better known as Jay, served as the quarterbacks coach at the school for 12 years. Scott, a lawyer, ran as a Republican candidate for Pennsylvania's 17th congressional district in 2004.
Paterno suffered from a number of injuries and ailments later in his life. In 2006, he fractured his shin and damaged his knee when he was involved in a sideline collision during a football game. A couple of years later, Paterno sprained his leg and had to undergo hip replacement surgery. In 2011, he suffered another injury when he collided with a player during practice; later that year, he was diagnosed with lung cancer. Paterno passed away from complications relating to his treatment in January of 2012. He was 85 years of age.
