Head coaches often say that they are involved in the profession to help kids be successful in life. But when that success translates to the playing field and in the win column, those coaches usually receive a little extra benefit for their efforts.

Those usually come in the way of a nice chunk of change in bonus money. So far in 2019, there are two B1G coaches who have made significant money in bonuses through the midway point of the season.

USA Today has a database that has started tracking bonus earnings for head coaches in college football. Minnesota’s P.J. Fleck and Penn State’s James Franklin are near the top of that list. Actually, Franklin IS at the top of the list.

With Penn State becoming bowl eligible last Saturday with a win over Iowa, Franklin has earned $200,000 in bonus money for guaranteeing a postseason appearance. Fleck is at No. 4 on the list, with a $75,000 bonus for bowl eligibility status after last Saturday’s win over Nebraska.

Both Penn State and Minnesota are 6-0.

Here’s a look at the top five, according to USA Today’s database:

  1. James Franklin, Penn State — $200,000
  2. Dan Mullen, Florida — $100,000
  3. Craig Bohl, Wyoming — $100,000
  4. P.J. Fleck, Minnesota — $75,000
  5. Nick Saban, Alabama — $65,000

The two B1G coaches who are also bowl eligible but did not crack even the top 10 are Ohio State’s Ryan Day and Wisconsin’s Paul Chryst.

With more teams earning bowl eligibility in the coming weeks, it’ll be interesting to see how much this list changes, if at all.