Getting paid millions of dollars without having to work is becoming the norm in college football. The latest payout will be taking place at Penn State and employees of the University are not happy about it.
Questions centering around the fact that Penn State will be paying its former head coach James Franklin to not coach the team.
Penn State fired Franklin on Sunday following three straight losses, putting them on the hook for more than $49 million owed to the coach.
You have to know that there are some livid faculty members out there questioning the decision. There are likely more dissenters at Penn State as I read this week that school president Neeli Bendapudi received a 47 percent pay raise, making her one of the highest-paid public university leaders in the country.
Franklin’s $49 million buyout is the second-biggest buyout in college football history after former Texas A&M coach Jimbo Fisher’s $76 million buyout.
The move came after a double-overtime loss to Oregon, 30-24, on Sept. 27, followed by a 42-37 loss to UCLA at the Rose Bowl, and a 22-21 loss to Northwestern at home on Saturday.
To make matters even worse, the Nittany Lions lost their quarterback, Drew Allar, to a season-ending injury late in the fourth quarter on Saturday.
Faculty members will point out that Franklin, 53, has an overall record of 104-45, tying him for the second-winningest coach in the history of Penn State football. They will tell you that Penn State won 13 games last season and lost in the College Football Playoff semifinal to Notre Dame.
I say that there are few coaches out there that won that many games over that time period. I will add that even fewer won 13 games last season. Time will tell if Penn State can find someone who can win more than Franklin did at the school.
And whomever they find will command a huge salary that will make faculty members even happier. Just kidding.
