James Franklin wanted to spite Penn State after firing. Here's why he didn't

BLACKSBURG, VA – We’ll get into the money ordeal, just not the way you’d think. Not through the fascinating lens of who in their right mind walks away from $40 million ? James Franklin does, and before we examine the why and what he was thinking, we need to attack this money thing from a different angle.

Not the money of losing, and getting paid tens of millions to not coach . But the money of winning, and what it now costs to field a championship roster in the NIL-driven era of college football. “I’ll give Penn State credit, they went all-in last year,” Franklin told USA TODAY Sports in a wide-ranging interview.

“But they went all in for one year. ” That’s where this money trail begins. Not with Franklin letting Penn State off the hook for $40 million by accepting the Virginia Tech job in December and allowing the mitigation clause in his $49 million buyout from Penn State to kick in.

But with Penn State, a college football blue blood for decades — a blue blood in dire straits when Franklin arrived in 2014 — not acting like one until it was forced to see the ugly truth in 2024. You remember the 2024 season, right? Penn State lost a gut-punch of a game at home to Ohio State — yet another loss in a big game for Franklin — and lost in the Big Ten championship game to Oregon.