Penn State has paid $5.7 million to Joe Paterno’s estate, honoring terms of a contract that had been agreed to in August 2011. Despite terminating Paterno as a coach in November, the board of trustees intended to honor his contract as if he had retired at the end of the 2011 season. The benefits and payments totaled $5.76 million, which have now been paid to his estate. “That contract recognized coach Paterno’s decades-long contributions to our football program and to the entire university,” a Penn State spokesman said.
