Penn State Says Adidas Had No Role in James Franklin Firing or Buyout

When Penn State announced the stunning firing of football coach James Franklin on Sunday, it raised two obvious questions:

How much money did the school owe Franklin?

And where was that money coming from?

The first remains imprecise, as Penn State enjoys a broad exemption from Pennsylvania’s laws around government transparency. Unlike nearly every other public university of its stature, Penn State’s sports contracts are not a matter of public record, and Penn State’s athletic department has declined to disclose any new information about Franklin’s contract.

The most recent reporting on Franklin’s contract is that the school would owe him $49.7 million if he was fired without cause. But much remains unknown about that sum. Many coaching contracts include offsets if the coach finds a new job, and some include a “duty to mitigate,” meaning the fired coach must at least try to find new employment. It’s also unclear over what period of time the sum is owed, although the Associated Press reported Sunday that Franklin will be owed at least $8 million a year over the next six years.

Penn State athletic director Patrick Kraft declined to provide any details about Franklin’s contract in a press conference Monday. “I’m not going to get into the financials. What I will tell you about the buyout … this is an athletics issue, this is not the institution’s issue,” Kraft said. “We in athletics are covering all the costs.” Beyond that, he gave no detailed information.

The school did give Front Office Sports a firm on-the-record denial of one claim that was widely circulated this weekend: that Adidas pushed the school to fire Franklin, and will cover most of the buyout cost. 

“The report is patently false,” a Penn State spokesperson told FOS. “This decision was made solely by the Penn State administration. Adidas is not helping to pay the buyout for Coach Franklin.”

Adidas, when asked for comment, deferred to Penn State.

Franklin’s 12-year tenure in State College abruptly ended after a stunning upset loss to Northwestern on Saturday night. It was the Nittany Lions’ second straight loss in a game where they were favored by more than 20 points and third straight loss this season, ending a shocking slide after making the College Football Playoff semifinal last season. 

Franklin won 104 games at Penn State, behind only Joe Paterno in school history, but was widely perceived to struggle in big games and rarely beat top-10 teams.

Meanwhile, after more than 30 years with Nike, Penn State announced a “transformational” deal with Adidas last month that is widely reported to be a 10-year pact worth $300 million in cash and apparel. The school has not made the contract public, and it also hasn’t shared it with all of the trustees, drawing the ire of some trustees who believe they are entitled to review it, FOS reported Saturday.

The deal with Adidas contains an unusual provision, seen by FOS, giving the school’s athletic director $500,000 annually in “product allotment,” separate from the $8 million annual product allotment earmarked for the athletic department.

Penn State deputy athletic director Leah Beasley told FOS that despite the wording, “It is for the discretion of the athletic department, it is not for Pat Kraft personally.” Adidas also called it “standard” in a statement to FOS. 

Three current and former Power 4 athletic directors told FOS that such an allotment was not standard.

Both Penn State and Adidas denied requests to view the entire contract, which is set to begin July 1, 2026.