ALTOONA, Pa. -- Penn State has 31 varsity sports to pay for, as a self-sustaining athletic department. And it wants to keep up with the Joneses as much as possible in the fast-moving arms race of college football.
Oh, the school also has to pay for huge renovations to Beaver Stadium. And the Bryce Jordan Center still needs work, along with other facilities on campus.
There could come a point in time when Penn State has to decide one very important thing: How much can it afford to pay James Franklin before someone finally says, "Enough is enough, if he wants more, we have to let him go."
Franklin is already making $6 million a year, plus incentives. There's now speculation that LSU could be interested in him, the same LSU that is paying Ed Orgeron $9 million this year and $16 million to go away after this season.
How much would USC be looking to pay Franklin, if the school thinks he's the right man for the job?
Could all of these schools be in a bidding war here in a couple of months?
And if so, just how high would Penn State be willing to go? Is Franklin worth $8 million a year? Surely he's not worth $9 million, right? Not at Penn State, anyway, where again, the school has other financial priorities it must address.
These are all very important questions that Penn State AD Sandy Barbour and president Eric Barron need to be discussing over the second half of the season.
PODCAST: Check out my podcast discussion on this with longtime Penn State reporter Rich Scarcella from the Reading Eagle:
Franklin clearly has a lot of leverage right now, as a hot commodity at two prestigious jobs. He's had leverage before at Penn State, and he's turned that into raises for himself and more money being spent on his staff.
It's believed that both Brent Pry and Mike Yurcich are making more than $1.5 million a year, putting both among the top 20 or 30 highest-paid coordinators in the country.
Still, Franklin wants more. He wants more analysts, something he's mentioned directly or indirectly several times. He no doubt wants even more money for his assistant coaches, because that is always the case with every head coach.
How much more can and should Penn State pay in order to keep Franklin?
What is the line of demarcation for a coach who certainly has done some outstanding things, but still has not yet reached a College Football Playoff?
That very well could change if the Nittany Lions win at Ohio State next week. But if they lose and fail to reach the playoff this season, should the school be subjected to having to meet a much higher price tag if a bidding war breaks out?
Look, there are other good coaches out there. If Franklin decides that he's not getting enough at Penn State and wants to move on, then the school will find a good coach for similar or less money. Cincinnati's Luke Fickell, for instance, only makes $3.4 million, and the belief here is that he would be an excellent choice to succeed Franklin, if it comes to that.
But the problem is that Penn State had better be careful with any decision concerning Franklin, because you just never know how things might work out with another coach. If you make the right decision, then everything will be great. But if you make the wrong decision, it can hurt the program for close to a decade.
Contrary to what some may believe, Penn State does not have an enormous amount of money compared to some other college football programs. There also are some Board of Trustees members, including Jay Paterno, who voted not too long ago against spending close to $50 million on upgrading the football facilities.
You think something like that happens at Alabama, LSU or Texas A&M, among other places?
Heck no.
And also contrary to what some may believe, losing Franklin might not be such a terrible thing -- as long as the school makes the right choice with the next hire.
It's anybody's guess where Franklin will be coaching next season: Either Penn State, USC or LSU.
I'd like to think it's Penn State. But if he decides he wants to leave and can get a boatload more money elsewhere, then so be it. Best wishes to him.
Because as long as he stays at Penn State, and remains a hot commodity, we're going to keep going through all of this year after year after year, and Franklin will always have a great deal of leverage.
Until he gets to a point -- whatever that may be -- where the school says, no, sorry, we just can't pay that much.
