Penn State is now part of an 18-team Big Ten with several top-tier programs. The Nittany Lions share the conference with Oregon, USC, and mainstays Ohio State and Michigan. All five schools consistently produce NFL talent and have a top-tier head coach to run the program.
With USA TODAY updating its college football head coach salary database, we now know who the highest-paid Big Ten coaches are and whether that correlates to on-field success.
James Franklin is in his 11th season as Penn State’s head coach and currently leads the No. 3 team in the nation. But where does he rank in being paid like one of the best, especially in a top-tier conference like the Big Ten?
Franklin’s total pay is $8.5 million annually, making him the 13th highest-paid coach in college football. Georgia’s Kirby Smart is the highest-paid coach in college football, the only coach above $11.5 million, with a salary of $13.28 million.
Here are the salaries of all 18 Big Ten head coaches, ranked from highest to lowest paid. The conference has two coaches in the top 10 nationally.
Matt Krohn-Imagn Images
Salary: $10.043 million (No. 4 nationally)
Buyout: N/A
Career Record: 77-21 (22-11 at USC)
Resume: Four-time Big 12 Champion (2017-2020), Big 12 Coach of the Year (2018), coached Heisman Trophy-winning quarterbacks Baker Mayfield, Kyler Murray and Caleb Williams
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Kyle Robertson/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK / USA TODAY NETWORK
Salary: $10.021 million (No. 5 nationally)
Buyout: $37.28 million
Career Record: 61-9 (all at Ohio State)
Resume: Two-time Big Ten champion (2019, 2020), 2019 Big Ten Coach of the Year, three College Football Playoff appearances (2019, 2020, 2022)
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Matthew O’Haren-Imagn Images
Salary: $8.5 million (No. 13 nationally)
Buyout: $56.66…
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