Chip Kelly STUNNED to Hear About Massive Contract for Penn State Coach: ‘Did You Say…$85 Million? WOW’
While NCAA athletes are finally able to make money off their name, image and likeness, college coaches have been earning massive contracts for decades.
Earlier this week, Penn State announced they signed head coach James Franklin to a 10-year $85 million contract, ending speculation that he could be in the mix for jobs at USC and LSU. Wednesday morning, UCLA’s Chip Kelly joined hosts Geoff Schwartz and Sean O’Connell on SiriusXM Radio’s Pac-12 Today and the Bruins head coach was stunned to learn about Franklin’s new contract.
The historic extension signed by @PennStateFball & @coachjfranklin was so crazy that it even caught @UCLAFootball HC Chip Kelly off guard
Click below to hear @realOCsports & @geoffschwartz break the news and the Bruins HC’s immediate reaction#GoBruins #BackThePac pic.twitter.com/GbjAkVLnnQ
— College Sports on SiriusXM (@SXMCollege) November 24, 2021
“Did you just say James got $85 million?” Kelly said, pausing a question about the coaching carousel in college football.
“$85 million 10 years,” O’Connell confirmed.
“WOW,” Kelly replied in amazement. “Good for James, I’m gonna have to text him. That’s awesome.”
$85 million for the Penn State coach, a $95 million offer is reportedly being prepared for Michigan State head coach Mel Tucker and Kelly will soon enter the final season of his less impressive, but still lucrative 5-year $23.3 million contract with UCLA.
The 57-year-old football coach is just 17-25 at UCLA, so an $85 million contract extension appears unlikely, but with the opportunity to lead the Bruins to their best record since the 2015 this season, Kelly has at least cooled the hot seat.
