During his introductory press conference as the new head coach of Penn State football, Bill O’Brien said all the right things.  Naturally, the question of Bill O’Brien’s salary came up rather quickly.

Taking over as head coach of a historic program under scrutiny, one of the key questions that was on the minds of many was, “Taking over a job like this, how much money will Bill O’Brien make?”

That question is especially curious considering the fact that Joe Paterno never had a bloated salary.  At least, not like other elites in the game such as Nick Saban or Urban Meyer.

At the end of the press conference, O’Brien’s contract details were released, as first reported by Ben Jones of StateCollege.com, via his Twitter account (@Ben_Jones88).

Specifically, the contract details released by Penn State are as follows:

  • “5-year contract runs from 2012-2017”
  • “Base compensation of $950,000 per year with built-in 5 percent increase annually”
  • “Regular executive benefits offered by University”
  • “Additional compensation from radio and television as well as Nike contract for each of five years”
  • “Performance incentives not to exceed $200,000 for each year”

Also, for those that may be concerned for Penn State tradition – at least when it comes to the team’s uniforms – O’Brien did speak highly of the university’s traditional jerseys, helmets and cleats.  Therefore, do not expect Nike to be able to break out major changes in the uniform department going forward.  Penn State’s uniform tradition appears to be safe and sound.

bill-obrien-addresses-the-media-during-introductory-penn-state-press-conference

During his introductory press conference, new Penn State head coach Bill O’Brien said all the right things.

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