Before the news that James Franklin had been fired atop Penn State's football program around 2 p.m. Sunday, the school's athletics director had moments earlier outlined the decision in a letter to former players.
In an email to former Penn State Nittany Lions football players and letterwinners Sunday at 1:56 p..m., Penn State Athletics Director Dr. Pat Kraft wrote directly to the Penn State football family to inform them of the firing of Franklin.
FootballScoop obtained multiple copies of the letter on condition of anonymity.
"Dear Penn State Football Family,
"I want to share with you directly that we have made a change in the leadership of our football program as Coach Franklin will no longer be the head football coach," Kraft wrote.
"The decision did not come lightly. I have tremendous respect for James and for the deep commitment and effort he and his staff have shown our student-athletes and our great university."
But ...
"However, after careful consideration of the program's trajectory and performance, I believe new leadership is necessary to position Penn State Football for long-term success."
The head of Penn State Athletics now for almost three-and-a-half years, Kraft did not hire Franklin but he did extend the coach's contract in recent years and also increased Franklin's base pay, incentives and the money allocated for Franklin's assistant coaches' salary pool.
"We will begin a national search for our next head coach," Kraft added in the letter. "My priority is finding a leader who embodies Penn State's core values, will develop out student-athletes on and off the field, and will unite our community in pursuit of championships."
Penn State is among college football's leaders in total staff compensation, with Franklin earning a base salary this year of $8.5 million plus additional incentives that could have relatively easily been achieved to push Franklin above $9 million.
Franklin was signed through 2031, and buyout terms had been set as such in the renegotiated deal, which was handled by CAA's Jimmy Sexton, that Franklin's owed more than $50 million.
Earlier this week, in its annual study analyzing college football's top coaching salaries, USA Today noted that Franklin was No. 16 nationally in pay. However, Penn State did not divulge Franklin's potential bonus compensation.
Additionally, the buyout figure of $48.866 million was effective as of Dec. 1, 2025; with six games left on Penn State's regular-season schedule, Franklin's owed more than $50 million in buyout money based on his termination prior to mid-October.
As noted in multiple reports and in FootballScoop's own tracking, Franklin's owed more money from Penn State than the combined buyouts of previously fired coaches Sam Pittman (Arkansas), Mike Gundy (Oklahoma State), Trent Bray (Oregon State), DeShaun Foster (UCLA) and Brent Pry (Virginia Tech).
Kraft further wrote than he recognized this decision "brings strong emotions for many of you. Please know that I deeply value your continued support, input and connection to our program. Penn State Football is built on family, and that foundation remains as strong as ever."