How Much Do NFL Coaches Make?

Coaches are some of the highest-paid employees in the NFL. While head coaches make the most money, assistant coaches also receive a significant amount of money.

Introduction

In the National Football League, a head coach is the leader of his team. He is responsible for play calling and game strategy, as well as molding his players into a cohesive unit. NFL head coaches typically make multimillion-dollar salaries, with the highest-paid coaches earning over $8 million per year.

While NFL head coaches are among the highest-paid professionals in the world, their salaries are not always guaranteed. In recent years, several high-profile coaches have been fired despite having multimillion-dollar contracts. For example, in 2020, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers fired head coach Dirk Koetter despite having two years and $10 million remaining on his contract.

NFL head coaches typically have a great deal of control over their teams, and they are often able to earn high salaries as a result. However, with great power comes great responsibility – if a head coach does not produce results on the field, he can be quickly replaced, no matter how much money he is owed.

How Much Do NFL Coaches Make?

NFL coaches are some of the highest-paid employees in the world. The average salary for an NFL coach is $2.5 million per year, with some coaches making as much as $7 million per year. NFL coaches are paid so much because they are responsible for leading a team to success on the field. If a team does well, the coach will usually get a bonus.

Head Coaches

The average salary for a Head Coach in the NFL is $5.5 million per year. In 2018, the league’s highest-paid coach was Seattle Seahawks’ Pete Carroll, who made $11 million that year. The New England Patriots’ Bill Belichick is the second highest-paid coach, making $10.5 million in 2018.

Assistant Coaches

In 2014, the median NFL salary for assistant coaches was $150,000 per year, according to USA Today. However, assistant coaches’ salaries can vary greatly depending on their experience and the level of football they coach.

Assistant coaches in the NFL typically make less than $100,000 per year, although some higher-ranking assistants may make more. For example, the offensive coordinator for the Seattle Seahawks made $1 million in 2014, according to The Seattle Times.

The highest-paid assistant coach in the NFL as of 2014 was New England Patriots’ offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels, who made $2.4 million that year, according to USA Today.

How Do NFL Coaches’ Salaries Compare to Other Sports?

In 2017, the average annual salary for an NFL head coach was $6.4 million, according to a report from USA Today. That’s more than triple the average salary of an MLB manager ($1.8 million) and nearly double the average NBA head coach’s salary ($4 million).

So why do NFL coaches make so much more money than their counterparts in other professional sports? There are a few factors at play.

First, the NFL is simply a more popular and profitable league than MLB or the NBA. In 2018, the NFL generated $8 billion in revenue, while MLB pulled in $10 billion and the NBA brought in $7.4 billion. That means there’s more money to go around in the NFL, which allows teams to pay their coaches more handsomely.

Second, NFL teams generally employ fewer coaches than MLB or NBA teams. An NFL team typically has a staff of around 10 coaches, while an MLB team usually has a staff of 20 or more coaches and an NBA team typically has a staff of 15 or more coaches. That means each individual coach on an NFL team has more responsibility and is paid accordingly.

Finally, it’s important to remember that coaching is a very demanding profession, both mentally and physically. NFL coaches typically put in long hours (often working 12-14 hours per day during the season) and they have to be able to deal with the intense pressure that comes with being responsible for leading a team to victory (or defeat). All of these factors help to explain why NFL coaches are some of the highest-paid professionals in all of sports.

Conclusion

As we can see, NFL coaches make a lot of money. However, it is important to remember that they also have a lot of responsibilities. They are responsible for the safety of their players and the success of their team. So, if you are thinking about becoming a coach, remember that it is a lot of work!