Oct 11, 2025; University Park, Pennsylvania, USA; Penn State Nittany Lions head coach James Franklin answers questions from the media following the game against the Northwestern Wildcats at Beaver Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matthew O'Haren-Imagn Images

Penn State shocked the college football world on Sunday afternoon, firing 12th-year coach James Franklin after a loss to Northwestern. It was the third-straight loss for the Nittany Lions and second-straight against an unranked opponent after they lost to previously winless UCLA in Week 6.

Penn State is still searching for its first win against a power conference opponent in 2025, and it lost starting quarterback Drew Allar for the season in the loss to the Wildcats.

It's a stunning fall from grace for Franklin, whose team entered the year as the preseason No. 2 squad in the country coming off a 13-win season in which Penn State won a pair of College Football Playoff games during a run to the semifinals.

Franklin, who was hired in 2014 and had six 10+ win seasons, leaves State College with a 104-45 record overall, including a 64-36 mark in Big Ten play. It was an unambiguously successful tenure on the whole, and firing Franklin clearly took quite a bit of conviction on Penn State's part.

The school will owe Franklin one of the largest buyouts in college football history. He was the 16th highest-paid coach in the country with an $8.5 million average annual salary, and the Nittany Lions are on the hook for $48.6 million as part of Franklin's buyout, according to the USA TODAY Sports coaching salary database.

The only larger buyout paid in the history of the sport was the one given to Jimbo Fisher at Texas A&M, which totaled nearly $80 million.

Franklin has long been viewed as one of the top coaches in the sport, and though his ouster comes as quite a shock, it's a decision that could make a dent in the program's coffers.

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This article originally appeared on College Sports Wire: How big is fired Penn State coach James Franklin's buyout?

Reporting by Tyler Nettuno, College Sports Wire / College Sports Wire

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