How Much Does an NBA Head Coach Make?
Head coaches in the National Basketball Association (NBA) are the highest-paid coaches in the world, with an average salary of $5 million per year.
NBA Coaches’ Salaries
In recent years, NBA head coaches’ salaries have increased significantly. The average salary for an NBA head coach is around $5 million per year. However, some of the highest-paid coaches in the NBA make over $10 million per year. Let’s take a look at some of the factors that contribute to a coach’s salary.
Average NBA head coach salary
The average NBA head coach salary is $6 million per year. In comparison, the average player salary in the NBA is $7.7 million. As of 2019, the highest-paid coach in the NBA is Dwane Casey of the Detroit Pistons, who makes $7 million per year. The lowest-paid coach in the NBA is Luke Walton of the Los Angeles Lakers, who makes $5 million per year.
Highest-paid NBA head coach
The highest-paid NBA head coach is currently Doc Rivers of the Los Angeles Clippers, who earns an annual salary of $10 million. Rivers has been coaching in the NBA since 1996, and he has led the Clippers to six playoff appearances in his seven seasons with the team.
Lowest-paid NBA head coach
The lowest-paid NBA head coach is Steve Clifford of the Charlotte Hornets, who makes $3 million per year. Clifford is in his fifth season with the Hornets, and has a career record of 196-214.
NBA Coaches’ Contracts
The average NBA head coach’s salary is about $5 million per year, but some coaches make much more than that. For example, the head coach of the Golden State Warriors, Steve Kerr, is reportedly the highest-paid head coach in the NBA, with a salary of $12 million per year.
Length of NBA head coach contracts
The average NBA head coaching gig lasts just 2.6 years, according to a recent study by coachsearchfirm.com. That’s the shortest tenure of any major North American professional sport. So it’s no surprise that most NBA coaches are working on one-year contracts.
Only eight of the 30 NBA head coaches have contracts that extend beyond the 2017-18 season, according to Spotrac, which tracks sports contracts. The longest deal belongs to Gregg Popovich of the San Antonio Spurs, who has a five-year, $50 million contract that runs through 2020-21.
The other seven coaches with multi-year deals are: Doc Rivers (Clippers, through 2019-20), Dwane Casey (Raptors, through 2019-20), Tom Thibodeau (Timberwolves, through 2019-20), Quin Snyder (Jazz, through 2020-21), Brad Stevens (Celtics, through 2021-22), Steve Kerr (Warriors, through 2022-23) and Erik Spoelstra (Heat, through 2023-24).
NBA head coach contract buyouts
When an NBA head coach is fired, he is still paid the remainder of his contract. This is known as a “coach’s contract buyout.” For example, if a head coach has a four-year, $20 million contract and he is fired after two years, he will still be paid $10 million. There are a few ways that this money can be paid out.
The first way is in a lump sum. The coach will receive the full amount of the buyout within 30 days of being relieved of his duties. The second way is through an escrow account. The team will open an account in the coach’s name and fund it with the buyout amount. The coach will then receive periodic payments from this account over the course of two years.
The third way is through salary-cap relief. In this case, the team will spread the buyout amount over twice the length of the remaining contract, plus one additional year. So, if a head coach has two years left on his four-year deal when he is fired, the team would have four years to spread out the remaining $10 million owed to him.
The final way for a team to pay a head coach’s buyout is through insurance. If a coach’s contract is insured, the insurance company will pay out a certain amount of money to the team if the coach is fired mid-contract. This type of insurance is typically only used for long-term contracts (five years or more).
NBA head coach contract options
There are three different types of NBA head coach contracts-guaranteed, team option, and player option.
A guaranteed contract means that the coach will receive their salary no matter what. Even if they are fired during the season, they will still get paid for the rest of the year. This is the most common type of contract.
A team option gives the team the ability to extend the coach’s contract for an additional year. The coach may or may not have a say in this decision.
A player option gives the coach the ability to terminate their contract at any time. This is usually in response to a change in management or coaching staff.
NBA Coaches’ Salaries vs. Other Sports
In the NBA, head coaches are some of the highest-paid employees. In the 2019-2020 season, the average salary for an NBA head coach was $7 million. That’s more than double the average salary for an NHL head coach and more than triple the average salary for an MLB head coach. NFL head coaches also make more than NBA head coaches, with an average salary of $10 million. So, why are NBA coaches so much more?
NBA head coach salaries vs. NFL head coach salaries
The average NBA head coach salary is $5.5 million, which is quite a bit more than the average NFL head coach salary of $3.25 million. This may be due to the fact that NBA teams play more games than NFL teams (82 vs 16), and also because the NBA is a more globalized league with games being broadcast in over 200 countries.
NBA head coach salaries vs. MLB head coach salaries
In the NBA, the average head coach salary is $5.7 million per year. In Major League Baseball, the average head coach salary is $1.4 million per year. NBA head coaches make, on average, four times as much money as MLB head coaches.
The highest-paid NBA head coach is Doc Rivers of the Los Angeles Clippers, who makes $10 million per year. The highest-paid MLB head coach is Bruce Bochy of the San Francisco Giants, who makes $6 million per year.
NBA head coach salaries vs. NHL head coach salaries
In the National Basketball Association, the head coach of a team can make a lot of money. In fact, they are typically the highest-paid person on the team’s staff. The average salary for an NBA head coach is $6 million per year, but some coaches make much more than that. For example, the head coach of the Golden State Warriors, Steve Kerr, is reported to make $8 million per year.
In comparison, head coaches in the National Hockey League make an average of $2 million per year. So, while NHL coaches do not make as much money as their counterparts in the NBA, they still make a very good living.
