10 Highest Paid NFL Coach Salary [2023 Update]

Publish date: 2024-06-18

You must have heard about the NFL players making millions of dollars, but have you ever wondered how much an NFL coach earns? In this read, you will learn about the highest NFL coach salary.

If you think being an NFL player and training half of the day, every day is difficult, try to be the head coach. Unfortunately, except for some big-name coaches with massive successful biographies, keeping the job as a coach is as tricky as catching a bird.

The second day of the regular season is called a Black Monday for the corporates. On this day, the coaches are fired from their jobs and asked to look for other jobs.

However, if you bag more winnings than losses, or win the Lombardi trophy, becoming a coach for NFL is very chill and profitable.

The following is a list of the highest-paid NFL coaches. The list below is an unofficial salary list. It includes additional earnings like sponsorships, ads, and other public appearances. 

Moreover, the NFL team owners refrain from publicizing their coach’s salary. To eliminate fan wars and prevent their coaches from getting hate, they decided not to disclose the full salary.

10 Highest Paid NFL Coach (salary in millions)

Before we get to the details, let’s have a look at an overview of the list of the highest-paid NFL coach. The list has been gathered from ESPN and Audacy. 

Name of the CoachEarning
1. Bill Belichick$12.5 million
2. Pete Carroll$11 million
3. Jon Gruden$10 million
4. Sean Payton$9.8 million
5. John Harbaugh$9 million
6. Matt Rhule$8.5 million
7. Sean McVay$8.5 million
8. Mike Tomlin$8 million
9. Andy Reid$8 million
10. Bruce Arians$8 million

1. Bill Belichick 

With a possible salary of $12.5 million, Bill is the highest-paid NFL coach. In addition, Bill Belichick is a six-time Super Bowl winner. He joined with the Patriots in 2000 and is known as one of the best NFL coaches ever.

Moreover, his accomplishments and techniques have made him the highest-paid NFL coach in history. 

The ongoing joke among the NFL fans is that Bill dresses like a homeless person who is also allergic to the media. Belichick does not dress to impress others and can’t bear false media news. He believes that one should not make up words and avoid the truth. 

Bill has set high standards for NFL coaches. As a head coach, he has received many awards. He is a 6 times Super Bowl Champion, 3 times receiver of the AP NFL Coach of the year, and has trained several A-grade teams. 

In 2021, Former President Trump considered Belichick for the Presidential Medal of Freedom. However, Bill was honored by humbly declined.

2. Pete Caroll 

Pete is known in the NFL industry as a highly preppy coach and a part-time cheerleader, supporter, counselor, and motivator. However, NFL and Pete had some ups and downs over the years. 

Unfortunately, Carroll has a record of getting fired twice from NFL teams like the Patriots and Jets. Later, he joined USC and emerged a winner. He coached the team to win Six Bowl games later.

But the most significant jackpot he landed on was a contract with the Seattle Seahawks. Pete joined the Seahawks in 2010 and is currently the head coach and executive VP of the same.

As a head coach, Pete has won the Nationals twice, won Super Bowl, four times Rose, and two times Orange Bowl winner. Furthermore, in 2003 he was awarded the AFCA Coach of the year award. 

3. Jon Gruden 

Gruden is the head coach of the LV Raiders. He first worked for the Oakland Raiders from 1998 to 2001. He moved on to different teams, such as Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Raiders, before joining the LV Raiders. 

Before his NFL career, he served as a college football coach at the University of Pittsburgh, Southeast Missouri State, and the University of Tennesse, to name a few. At the same time, he began his professional coaching in 1992 when he was 28 years old with the Green Bay Packers. 

He has been a Super Bowl Champion and received the Tampa Bay Buccaneers Ring of Honour. But, he also has had his turning points with NFL. Recently. Gruden was charged a total fin of $250,000 for violating COVID 19 protocols during training. 

4. Sean Payton 

Unlike other NFL coaches, Sean was once an NFL player. He was a quarterback for Chicago Bears. Later, he started to coach professionally for San Diego State University, Indiana State University, and Miami University. 

Later, from 1997-1998 he was a trainer for the quarterbacks in the Philadelphia Eagles.

Then, at the end of 1998, he moved to coach for the Oakland Riders. Moreover, he also worked for the New York Giants, Dallas Cowboys, and New Orleans Saints.

He has won the 2006’s NFL Coach of the Year Award and Kansas City Committee NFC Coach of the year in 2006 and 2009. 

5. John Harbaugh

The next highest-paid NFL coach is John Harbaugh, who earns a whopping $9 million annually. Before professionally coaching for the Baltimore Ravens, he worked for the Philadelphia Eagles, specifically the defensive backs. 

Furthermore, he has also worked as a coach for Western Michigan, Pittsburg, Cincinnati, and Indiana. John joined the Ravens in 2008 and has got 140 wins since then. This marks NFL’s fourth-highest team wins. 

He has won Super Bowls throughout his career and received the AP and PFWA Coach of the year awards in 2019. He worked as an assistant coach in Philadelphia Eagles and got promoted as a head coach for the Baltimore Ravens. 

6. Matt Rhule 

Before starting his NFL career, Matt Rhule worked as the head college coach for Baylor University and Taylor University. Rhule was appointed as the head coach for Baylor University. However, he was unable to complete the season with remarkable records. 

In 2016, he started to work as a head coach for Baylor University. Still, he couldn’t achieve the expected results and lost the opportunity of the Super Bowl. In regards to NFL, he has been a coach for the NY Giants and Carolina Panthers.

In 2020, he was appointed as the Panthers head coach. The team’s defense improved with his arrival, taking the team to the 15 ranks in 2019. The media praised him for being a strong force towards the Panther’s rising success. 

The growth of the Panthers continues with their first win in the 2021 NFL against the NY Jets.

7. Sean McVay

McVay has been a head coach for the LA Rams since 2017, making him the youngest head coach ever. Similarly, he is also the youngest ever qualified for the playoff season, Super Bowl, and awarded the AP Coach of the year. 

Since joining the Rams, he has led the team from the lowest score to 2017’s top scorers. The same year Rams won their first game since 2003. In 2018, Sean led the team to the Super Bowl.

McVay has worked as an offensive assistant for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, wide receivers coach for the Tuskers and Washington Redskins.

Due to the success of Sean, many NFL teams have started to hire young coaches. This phenomenon is called the Sean McVay Effect. He paved the way for the younger coaches with a strong mindset and attitude. 

8. Mike Tomlin

Next on the list of the highest NFL Coach salary is Mike Tomlin, with $8 million. The head coach of Steelers first began his career working as an assistant coach. Since 2007, he has worked with the Steelers for 14 games and never had a record of any losses. 

Moreover, he has led the team to nine playoffs, seven division titles. Three AFC and two Super Bowl Championship games. When Tomlin was 36 years old, he was the youngest head coach with a Super Bowl win. 

Tomlin was awarded 2008’s Motorola Coach of the Year and Sportsman of the Year. Similarly, he also won AFC Champion in both 2008 and 2010 and NFC Champion in 2002. 

9. Andy Reid

The next head coach with the highest NFL coach salary is Andy Reid. Before joining the Chiefs, he was with the Philadelphia Eagles (1999-2012). He was also working as the executive VP simultaneously. 

Reid worked as an offensive assistant with the Green Bay Packers (1992-1998). Andy led the team to a Super Bowl win. Due to his effective managing with the Packers, he bagged the head coach position with the Eagles in 1999. 

He has been Super Bowl Champion twice throughout his career and grabbed the AP NFL Coach of the Year award in 2002. Andy has been awarded Coach of the Year by Sporting News, Pro Football Weekly, and Maxwell Club. 

10. Bruce Arians

Bruce was the head coach of the Arizona Cardinals and Indianapolis Colts before joining the Buccaneers. He goes by his saying, “No Risk it, No Biscuit.” He joined the Buccaneers in 2019 and presently leads the team.

As a head coach, he has been a Super Bowl Champion and named AP NFL’s Coach of the Year in 2012 and 2014. At the same time, they won Super Bowl twice as an assistant coach. 

In the history of the NFL, Bruce is the first head coach ever to hire a female assistant in his team. Bruce also believes in diversity. Hence, he has a diverse range of members from different backgrounds in his team. For instance, most of his assistants are from a Black community.

Conclusion

The highest NFL coach salary is $12.5 million. With the significant growth in popularity of the NFL every year, the salaries are bound to increase annually. Considering the effort that goes into managing and leading the team, do you think the salary is worth it?

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