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Morning Edition

October 14, 2025

James Franklin’s dismissal from Penn State seemed costly—but there’s a twist. The terms of his contract could work in the university’s favor, reducing or even eliminating the buyout if Franklin lands another position.

— Amanda Christovich [[link removed]], Eric Fisher [[link removed]], and Colin Salao [[link removed]]

Penn State Could Owe James Franklin Very Little of Buyout [[link removed]]

James Lang-Imagn Images

After abruptly firing James Franklin [[link removed]] on Sunday, Penn State owes the former head football coach close to $50 million in buyout money. It’s among the largest buyouts in the history of college sports.

But if Franklin gets a new job soon, that number could significantly diminish. In fact, Penn State may not owe him anything at all.

Franklin and Penn State could have negotiated a settlement after his firing, but the terms of his 2021 contract extension, obtained by Front Office Sports, read: “Should Coach obtain such applicable employment prior to the date this Contract would otherwise have expired, the University’s obligation to make payments to Coach … will be offset by the total compensation earned by Coach from such applicable new position through the end of the otherwise unexpired term of this agreement.”

In other words, whatever new salary he receives from his next job will offset what Penn State owes him in a buyout. And Franklin is obligated to search for a new job, according to the deal. That language, known as “duty to mitigate,” states: “Once terminated, Coach is obligated to diligently search for and make a good faith effort to obtain another position appropriate for his skill set (i.e., coaching, scouting and broadcasting only) and to provide the university upon request with evidence that he is seeking such employment.” Franklin is also required “to make good faith efforts to obtain the maximum reasonable salary” at his new job.

Some of the terms of Franklin’s buyout were previously reported [[link removed]] by On3.

Franklin’s buyout consists of his base salary of $500,000 per year, additional compensation of $6.5 million per year, and $1 million per year life insurance policy coverage between now and the end of the 2031 season, when his deal would have expired, according to the contract. That amounts to about $48 million.

He’s also owed the rest of that money for this year, bringing the total number to somewhere between $48 million and $50 million.

But if Franklin gets a new job between now and the end of the contract—whether in coaching or broadcasting—his new salary will offset the buyout. In other words, Penn State will have to pay him only the difference between his new salary and the amount of the buyout. If he gets another salary worth more than the terms of the buyout, Penn State owes him nothing. Franklin may even have to reimburse them if payments have already been made, the contract says.

If the Nittany Lions aren’t so lucky, they’ll have to cough up tens of millions in cash—and it’s unclear at this point how they will fund the buyout amid a $700 million renovation of Beaver Stadium.

One report suggested Adidas, the program’s incoming apparel sponsor [[link removed]], would help bankroll the buyout. Penn State vehemently denied this in a statement [[link removed]] to FOS. A payout from a Big Ten private-capital deal [[link removed]] involving a California pension fund could potentially help fund any potential buyout as well.

Athletic director Patrick Kraft declined to comment on specifics during a press conference Monday. “This is an athletics issue, this is not the institution’s issue,” he said. “We in athletics are covering all the costs.”

While it’s unclear where Franklin will land, there are currently plenty of openings across the Power 4. In the past month, Arkansas, Oklahoma State, UCLA, and Virginia Tech have all fired their head coaches.

FRONT OFFICE SPORTS LIVE

The Rise of E1

On Nov. 6, Future of Sports: The Next Wave [[link removed]]—presented by Front Office Sports and Courtside Sports Advisors, with official partners E1, Team Miami, and Campbell Capital Management—will bring together the sport’s top owners, investors, athletes, and celebrities in Miami for an exclusive, invite-only half-day experience.

Kicking off the event is the E1 Series panel.

Hear from the people behind E1 on how the series came about, its influences, its celebrity backers, and why it’s poised to take off. Joining the conversation is E1 Series founder and chairman Alejandro Agag and CEO Rodi Basso.

Want to join the conversation? Request to attend [[link removed]]. Space is limited.

Browns, Cleveland Reach $100M Deal to Clear Team’s Move to Suburbs [[link removed]]

Ken Blaze-Imagn Images

The city of Cleveland strongly opposed [[link removed]] the Browns’ plan to leave downtown Huntington Bank Field, but in the end, the NFL team will get its way.

The Browns on Monday reached a $100 million settlement with the city, removing the biggest obstacle in its bid to build a $2.4 billion domed stadium and mixed-use development in suburban Brook Park, Ohio.

The wide-ranging deal between the team’s ownership entity Haslam Sports Group and Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb included a series of financial payments from the franchise, several other commitments regarding the redevelopment of the city’s downtown, and the release of legal claims that had threatened to scuttle the entire project.

Among the key terms:

HSG will pay the city $25 million by Dec. 1. HSG will pay the city another $25 million in five separate annual payments of $5 million between 2029 and 2033. HSG will take on financial responsibility for razing the city-owned Huntington Bank Field after the team leaves in 2029, at an estimated cost of $30 million. HSG will pay at least $2 million annually to “mutually agreed community benefit projects” for 10 years after the end of the Huntington Bank Field lease, totaling $20 million. Both sides pledge mutual support for infrastructure related to a series of major development projects in the area, including the new stadium, the redevelopment of the lakefront, and the modernization of Cleveland Hopkins International Airport. The city will support the progress and completion of the Brook Park stadium and mixed-use development. All lawsuits related to the team’s departure from Huntington Bank Field and move to Brook Park are dismissed with prejudice.

“It’s a win for the city, the region, and the fans,” Browns owners Jimmy and Dee Haslam said in a joint statement. “We will always be the Cleveland Browns, and this agreement reflects a continued commitment … to strategically invest in city of Cleveland community programs.”

The city’s efforts to stop the Browns from leaving included appealing a recent Ohio Department of Transportation decision [[link removed]] to permit the Brook Park stadium, filing a lawsuit challenging the move based on a now-mooted law preventing pro team moves within the state, and alleging violations of the current stadium lease.

Beyond those specific issues, Bibb and other city leaders had previously questioned whether the Browns’ moving to the suburbs would harm ongoing efforts to improve the Cleveland lakefront.

The settlement was struck in recent days following a face-to-face meeting between Bibb and the Haslams.

“My administration, with the Haslams’ full support, will finally unlock the full potential of our lakefront, benefiting all residents and attracting new investment to the city,” Bibb said.

The final settlement remains subject to approval from the city council. The team intends to have a formal groundbreaking on the new stadium site early next year.

NBA Will Take Over League Pass After WBD Divorce [[link removed]]

Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

One of the more overlooked components of the NBA’s new set of domestic media deals has led to a reconstruction of the league’s NBA TV and NBA app.

As the $77 billion in rights agreements with Amazon, ESPN, and NBC begin, the league has redeveloped two of its core in-house platforms between the television network and mobile app. The NBA reassumed full operational control of NBA TV and the app after 17 years, when those assets were not included in the revised deal the league struck with TNT Sports parent Warner Bros. Discovery.

After WBD did not keep live game rights in the U.S., setting off a legal battle, an eventual settlement with the league [[link removed]] included a new agreement focused instead on highlights and international game rights. That deal, however, still contained some discord, as WBD was not able to come to an agreement with the NBA on continuing the prior model for NBA TV and the app.

“We were unable to agree on a path forward that recognized the value of our expertise, quality content, and operational excellence that our fans and partners have come to expect from TNT Sports,” network chairman and CEO Luis Silberwasser wrote in a company memo [[link removed]] about those platforms.

Key elements of NBA TV and the app in the revised structure include:

The creation of The Association, a new daily flagship program on the two platforms. The show will include news, highlights, and analysis, and it will “guide fans to the must-watch action across the league.” That program, based in a Los Angeles studio, will essentially replace the prior NBA Gametime Live. A nonexclusive live game package of 60 games, consisting of contests not part of the other national rights deals, or also shown regionally in the competing teams’ home markets. Heightened coverage of international basketball, including Australia’s National Basketball League, France’s Ligue Nationale de Basket, Germany’s Basketball Bundesliga, Spain’s Liga ACB, the Chinese Basketball Association, and the Korean Basketball League. A collection of top NBA podcasts and other creator-driven content.

The NBA, meanwhile, has also taken over operations of its out-of-market game package, NBA League Pass. The service carries a base price of $109.99 for the season, and $159.99 for the premium-level tier, equal to pricing from last season in the final year of the TNT Sports operation. NBA League Pass is also now being sold through Amazon’s Prime Video Channels as part of their agreement, and that product, along with NBA.com and the NBA app, are running on Amazon Web Services technology.

The 2025–26 NBA regular season will begin Oct. 21.

NBA Reopens Doors in China—and Eyes the WNBA Next [[link removed]]

Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

After a six-year absence, the NBA returned to China [[link removed]] over the weekend, sparking a new beginning for the league and one of its largest international markets.

The Suns and Nets played two games on Friday and Sunday, drawing a total of 22,634 fans for two sellouts at The Venetian Arena in Macao. The league is set to play eight more games over the next four years in Macao, which is a special administrative region of China.

Mavericks owner Patrick Dumont told the South China Morning Post that his team will face the Rockets next year [[link removed]]. Dumont is the president and COO of Las Vegas Sands, which owns The Venetian.

However, there may also be games in mainland China over that same period.

Before tip-off of the NBA China games Friday, NBA commissioner Adam Silver announced a new “ transformational partnership [[link removed]]” with the Chinese Basketball League (CBA). The announcement focuses on player development in China, including opportunities for China’s men’s and women’s national teams to train in the U.S. and compete in the NBA Summer League and WNBA preseason.

He also said that there could be additional games in “other parts of China concurrent with our Macao arrangement.” The Trail Blazers are an obvious candidate for a China-based game after the team drafted Hansen Yang with the No. 16 pick in June. The Celtics may also be a candidate following their recent $6.1 billion sale [[link removed]] to a consortium led by William Chisholm.

That group included Mario Ho Yau-kwan, the son of the late Macao businessman Stanley Ho Hung-sun.

The NBA had not played games since October 2019, about a week after then-Rockets GM Daryl Morey tweeted in support of anti-government protestors in Hong Kong. The backlash in China led to the removal of games on TV, particularly of Houston, one of the most popular franchises in the country following Yao Ming’s eight seasons with the team.

Is the WNBA Next?

Women’s basketball is also a focus of the NBA and CBA partnership, and Silver said WNBA games could also be held in China down the line. He admitted, however, that the league will first need to come to terms on a different CBA— the collective bargaining agreement [[link removed]].

“We have to get through a new collective bargaining agreement with our players. But once we do, there’s so much interest in women’s basketball here, I think we’d love to bring a WNBA game to Macao or to mainland China,” Silver said.

There have been several Chinese WNBA players in recent years, including former New York Liberty center Han Xu and Washington Mystics wing Li Meng. Dallas Wings center Li Yueru is the lone active player.

Conversation Starters Jaguars defensive end Josh Hines-Allen brought his 8-year-old son, a leukemia survivor, to serve as honorary captain ahead of the Jacksonville game Sunday. Take a look [[link removed]]. Kobe Bryant’s daughter Natalia served as the creative director for the Lakers’ preseason hype video that had several tributes to her father. Watch it here [[link removed]]. After leading the Las Vegas Aces to their third WNBA championship in four years, A’ja Wilson hugged her boyfriend, NBA All-Star Bam Adebayo. Check it out [[link removed]]. Editors’ Picks Latest Tiger Woods Surgery Bad News for TGL, PGA Tour Champions [[link removed]]by David Rumsey [[link removed]]Woods is recovering from his seventh back surgery in 11 years. Six Kings Slam Returns With Record $6M Prize, Netflix Deal [[link removed]]by Colin Salao [[link removed]]The Six Kings Slam is held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Clippers’ Aspiration Fiasco Recalls Another Doomed NBA Sponsorship [[link removed]]by Daniel Roberts [[link removed]]The Kawhi controversy has shades of the still-recent FTX scandal. Question of the Day

Do you think NBA League Pass will thrive under league control?

YES [[link removed]] NO [[link removed]]

Monday’s result: 55% of respondents think James Franklin will land another Power 4 coaching job in 2026.

Advertise [[link removed]] Awards [[link removed]] Learning [[link removed]] Events [[link removed]] Video [[link removed]] Show [[link removed]] Written by Amanda Christovich [[link removed]], Eric Fisher [[link removed]], Colin Salao [[link removed]] Edited by Matthew Tabeek [[link removed]], Catherine Chen [[link removed]]

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