“Who Holds the Crown as the NFL’s Highest-Paid Coach? Unveiling the Full Salary Breakdown of the League’s Top Earners”

Chiefs head coach Andy Reid received a five-yea extension after picking up his third Super Bowl win. Is he the league’s highest-earning coach?

Top NFL players are among the highest-paid athletes in the world, with some quarter-backs receiving nine-figure deals to tie them down. The same, to a lesser extent, is true of the league’s coaches, with huge sums offered to best in the business.

Of the head coaches currently in the league, there is a huge discrepancy between their earnings. Of the data made public by Sportico, Sporting News, and Pro Football Reference, the highest-paid coach earns five times that of the lower earner. Not all coaches’ salaries are made public, however.

After clinching his third Super Bowl title earlier this year, Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid was handed a new five-year deal worth $20 million per year. In stark contrast, Kevin Stefanski (Cleveland Browns) and Dennis Allen (New Orleans Saints) earn just $3.5 million.

NFL coaches salaries 2024
1. Andy Reid, Kansas City Chiefs – $20 million

2. Sean Payton, Denver Broncos – $18 million

3. Jim Harbaugh, Los Angeles Chargers – $16 million

4. Sean McVay, Los Angeles Rams – $15 million

5. Kyle Shanahan, San Francisco 49ers – $14 million

6. Mike Tomlin, Pittsburgh Steelers – $12.5 million

7. John Harbaugh, Baltimore Ravens – $12 million

8. Doug Pederson, Jacksonville Jaguars – $8.5 million

9. Sean McDermott, Buffalo Bills – $8 million

T-10. Matt LaFleur, Green Bay Packers – $6 million

T-10. Frank Reich, Carolina Panthers – $6 million

T-12. Robert Saleh, New York Jets – $5 million

T-12. Nick Sirianni, Philadelphia Eagles – $5 million

T-14. Dan Campbell, Detroit Lions – $4.5 million

T-14. Zac Taylor, Cincinnati Bengals – $4.5 million

T-14. Dan Quinn, Washington Commanders – $4.5 million

T-17. Mike McCarthy, Dallas Cowboys – $4 million

T-17. Raheem Morris, Atlanta Falcons – $4 million

T-19. Kevin Stefanski, Cleveland Browns – $3.5 million

T-19. Dennis Allen, New Orleans Saints – $3.5 million

Are coaches’ salaries included in the salary cap?
Last week there was a spate of free agencies and trades as teams desperately battled to get their team down to 53 players and within the league’s strict salary cap. That left some wondering, does the coach’s salary count towards the salary cap?

There is no salary cap on coaching staff, ensuring that their earnings does not significantly affect the budget that front office has to spend on new players. There are a few reasons for that and one crucial difference between coaches and players across many of the nation’s most popular sports.

“I pay attention to it, but it’s a marketplace,” NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said of coaches’ salaries ahead of the 2023 NBA Finals. “We’re able to negotiate collectively with the players because they choose to negotiate as a union. The coaches don’t – haven’t made that election.”
“They could form a union and come and negotiate their agreements collectively, but in the marketplace for coaches, we compete – our teams compete individually, and it’s where the marketplace takes us.”

Crucially, the marketplace for NFL coaches has not grown at the same rate as the increase in players’ wages. Head coach Andy Reid, the league’s highest-paid coach, earns less than half of what his quarter-back Patrick Mahomes receives every year from the Chiefs. Until the demand for top coaches reaches the same as that of top players, it’s unlikely that we’ll see a salary cap for coaching staff.