Vanderbilt Reaches Deal on Extension, Salary Increase for James Franklin

Published|Updated

Vanderbilt has reached an agreement to extend first-year head coach James Franklin's contract. The extension will also feature a salary increase for Franklin, whose team beat Wake Forest yesterday to become bowl eligible.

Reached for comment by OKTC, Vanderbilt Vice-Chancellor David Williams acknowledged that a deal was in place: "I've been working with Coach Franklin's agent since the day before Thanksgiving and we have agreed in principle to an extension and modification of the contract. We're hoping to have that signed shortly."

In the meantime, Vanderbilt fans can rest easy, James Franklin is not going anywhere

OKTC has also learned that Vandy coach James Franklin is using the momentum of Vanderbilt's bowl season to bolster an already impressive recruiting class.

Sources tell OKTC that five-star quarterback Gunner Kiel, a mid-term enrollee who made an unofficial visit to Vandy's campus with his parents last week, will be making an official visit with his parents this coming weekend. A second visit is an impressive coup for Franklin since it means Vanderbilt will figure prominently in Kiel's decision. Vanderbilt's second semester begins on January 9th so Kiel will have less than a month to decide if Vanderbilt will be his college choice. If Vanderbilt got Kiel, he would become the school's first five-star commit in football history. 

Already, Vanderbilt's seniors have achieved a first. "The seniors are all very excited," Williams said, "because they are the first class in Vandy history to play in two bowl games." 

 

Tags
Written by
Clay Travis is the founder of the fastest growing national multimedia platform, OutKick, that produces and distributes engaging content across sports and pop culture to millions of fans across the country. OutKick was created by Travis in 2011 and sold to the Fox Corporation in 2021. One of the most electrifying and outspoken personalities in the industry, Travis hosts OutKick The Show where he provides his unfiltered opinion on the most compelling headlines throughout sports, culture, and politics. He also makes regular appearances on FOX News Media as a contributor providing analysis on a variety of subjects ranging from sports news to the cultural landscape. Throughout the college football season, Travis is on Big Noon Kickoff for Fox Sports breaking down the game and the latest storylines. Additionally, Travis serves as a co-host of The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show, a three-hour conservative radio talk program syndicated across Premiere Networks radio stations nationwide. Previously, he launched OutKick The Coverage on Fox Sports Radio that included interviews and listener interactions and was on Fox Sports Bet for four years. Additionally, Travis started an iHeartRadio Original Podcast called Wins & Losses that featured in-depth conversations with the biggest names in sports. Travis is a graduate of George Washington University as well as Vanderbilt Law School. Based in Nashville, he is the author of Dixieland Delight, On Rocky Top, and Republicans Buy Sneakers Too.