NFL Coaches’ Salaries: Who Are the Top 10 Highest-Paid in 2024?
The National Football League (NFL) coaches play a pivotal role in driving the success or failure of teams. Just like the quarterbacks, wide receivers and other players, the coach sign contracts that determine their paycheck. Find out the 10 highest-paid NFL coaches in 2024.
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Just as other league players, coaches sign contracts containing clauses and bonuses but theirs are always guaranteed contracts. A team’s success or failure determines whether a coach’s contract could be extended or not. The details and outcomes of every contract varies between organizations. The publishing of elements such as performance bonuses, stock options and other financial details is not done similarly in all franchises.
The disparity in compensation of NFL head coaches is influenced by individual track record and performance, team success, tenure with a team, market demand, and team budget. Therefore, the highest-paid NFL coaches are clearly successful individuals with remarkable track records and valuable contributions to the league.
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The average annual salary for NFL coaches is approximately $5.5 million per year. Coaches who fall along the high-end of the pay spectrum earn significantly more than their counterparts. The highest-paid coaches make between $9.5 million and $20 million per year. These earnings reflect competitive financial rewards for those who have been able to forge a successful coaching career in the NFL.
In 2024, the top 10 NFL coaches with the highest salaries are professionals who have amassed enviable track records. Through their passion for the sport and their expertise in shaping the careers of players, these coaches have proven their financial worth. These unsung heroes include Kansas Chiefs’ Andy Reid who over the years has morphed from one of the most underpaid to the highest-paid NFL coaches. There is also Sean Peyton of Denver Broncos whose coaching career started on quite a basic level. Further, Sean McVay of Los Angeles Rams stands out for his achievement as the youngest NFL head coach to record a Super Bowl victory.
Below, find out the salaries that render Andy Reid, Sean Peyton, and Sean McVay among seven others, the highest-paid in the league.
List of the Top 10 Highest-Paid NFL Coaches in 2024
List of the Top 10 Highest-Paid NFL Coaches in 2024
| Rank | Coach | Team | Career Record | Super Bowl Wins | Annual Salary |
| 1 | Andy Reid | Kansas City Chiefs | 258-144-1 | 3 | $25 million |
| 2 | Sean Payton | Denver Broncos | 160-98 | 1 | $18 million |
| 3 | Jim Harbaugh | Los Angeles Chargers | 44-19-1 | 0 | $16 million |
| 4 | Sean McVay | Los Angeles Rams | 70-45 | 1 | $15 million |
| 5 | Kyle Shanahan | San Francisco 49ers | 64-51 | 0 | $14 million |
| 6 | Mike Tomlin | Pittsburgh Steelers | 173-100-2 | 1 | $12.5 million |
| 7 | John Harbaugh | Baltimore Ravens | 160-99 | 1 | $12 million |
| 8 | Doug Pederson | Jacksonville Jaguars | 60-53-1 | 1 | $8.5 million |
| 9 | Sean McDermott | Buffalo Bills | 73-41 | 0 | $8 million |
| 10 | Nick Sirianni | Philadelphia Eagles | 34-17 | 0 | $6-7 million |
10. Nick Sirianni: (Philadelphia Eagles) - $6-7 Million Per Year
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Before becoming the Philadelphia Eagles head coach in 2021, Nick Sirianni was the offensive coordinator of the Indianapolis Colts. In his first season with the Eagles, he led the team to the playoffs. In the 2022 season, the Eagles made an appearance at Super Bowl LVII that led to a 38-35 win by the Kansas City. Working with the Eagles offer Nick Sirianni a salary ranging between $6-7 million annually.
9. Sean McDermott: (Buffalo Bills) - $8 Million Per Year
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Sean McDermott commenced his NFL career in 1999 where he worked as an administrative coordinator for the Philadelphia Eagles. Two years down the line he moved a level higher as an Eagles’ coaching Staff. In the course of his career, his engagements entailed handling different teams operations, until 2017 when he became the head coach of the Buffalo Bills. McDermott’s annual salary of $8.5 million became actualized in 2020 after he signed a six-year contract with the Bills.
8. Doug Pederson: (Jacksonville Jaguars) - $8.5 Million Per Year
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Doug Pederson played in the NFL for 12 years as a quarterback and won the 1996 Super Bowl ring with the Green Bay Packers. He then assumed different coaching staff positions and worked in college football for a decade, after which he became the Philadelphia Eagles’ head coach. His role led to commendable performance of the Eagles, which culminated into three playoff appearances in five years. In 2017, the Eagles carried the day in the Super Bowl. Later on in 2022, Pederson signed a contract with the Jacksonville Jaguars, getting him $8.5 million yearly salary.
7. John Harbaugh: (Baltimore Ravens) - $12 Million Per Year
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Baltimore Ravens hired John Harbaugh as the head coach in 2008. He comes from a lineage of NFL coaches, with his father and twin brother having followed a similar career path. Harbaugh started off as an assistant coach for the Philadelphia Eagles in 1998. Under his leadership, the Ravens emerged winners in playoff games during his first five seasons and went on to win the Lombardi Trophy in 2012. Harbaugh also led the Ravens to win Super Bowl XLVII. Since 2008, he remains the Ravens’ head coach to date after extending his $12 million annual salary contract from 2022 to 2025.
6. Mike Tomlin: (Pittsburgh Steelers) - $12.5 Million Per Year
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Mike Tomlin became the Steelers’ head coach in 2007, without prior experience. Nonetheless, he worked relentlessly towards establishing a reputation for his leadership. In his second season, the Steelers became champions in Super Bowl XLIII. His leadership has further secured two more Super Bowl appearances and seven AFC North titles for the team, consequently securing him a $12.5 million annual salary.
5. Kyle Shanahan: (San Francisco 49ers) - $14 Million Per Year
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Kyle Shanahan is considered quarter-back friendly and one of the best offensive handler in the NFL. Through his enviable expertise, he has forged balanced attacks that have led to conference final or Super Bowl participations, four times in the past five years. In 2016, he was the offensive coordinator of the Atlanta Falcons and he led the them to the top scoring position. Upon assuming the head coach position with the San Francisco 49ers, Shanahan led the team to three division title victories and two Super Bowl appearances. These landmark achievements in the 49ers have earned Kyle Shanahan a salary worth $14 million per year.
4. Sean Mcvay: (Los Angeles Rams) - $15 Million Per Year
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The Rams’ head coach Sean McVay has been with the team since 2017. At the time of assuming this position, he was 30 years old. Four years later in 2021, he led the Rams into Super Bowl victory. He stands out as a pace-setter for offensive design and his choice of players has considerably emerged effective. After the 2022 season, McVay forewent a covetous $100 million fiver-year offer to become an Amazon broadcaster. Instead, he remained loyal to the Rams, where he is currently earning $15 million per year.
3. Jim Harbaugh: (Los Angeles Chargers) - $16 Million Per Year
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For a decade, Jim Harbaugh has been out of the NFL. He ushered in his return to the NFL with a Michigan Wolverines win in the College Football National Championship. This was Michigan’s first national championship since 1997. This victory combined with the 16 winning seasons he dominated as a head man, reinforces him as an undisputed victor. The four seasons in which Jim has been a professional head coach have rendered him a force of reckoning. The $16 million annual package seals Jim Harbaugh’s five-year contract with the Los Angeles Chargers.
2. Sean Payton: (Denver Broncos) - $18 Million Per Year
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Sean Payton started off his NFL coaching career as a quarterback coach and later became an assistant coach. In 2006, he became a head coach with the New Orleans Saints where he remarkably improved the team. In 2009 under his leadership, the Saints won the Super Bowl. Also in 2006, Payton won AP Coach of the Year. In 2023, a blockbuster trade led Payton to Denver Broncos and he signed up a contract offering him $18 million per year over five years.
1. Andy Reid: (Kansas City Chiefs) - $25 Million Per Year
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The top spot goes to Andy Reid, affectionately known as ‘Big Red’. His career as an NFL head coach spans over 25 years. Across this period, he has risen from being one of the least-paid NFL head coaches to the highest-paid. In 2019, he led Kansas City Chiefs into a Super Bowl victory and cumulatively, he is a three-time Super Bowl Champion, making him the only coach with multiple Super Bowl Championships. Reid has been earning between $18million and $20 million per season, up until April 2024 when the Chiefs offered him a 5-year contract extension at $25 million per year.
Ian Mugo Wanyeki is based in Nairobi, Kenya. He is a sports enthusiast with vast knowledge of different sport disciplines. Ian is a graduate with a Bachelor’s of Science degree from Kenyatta University. He is a Kenyan journalist who’s worked as a sports analyst at Covenant Television Network, as a sports reporter at NTV and as a Sports Correspondent/contributor at Quartz Africa.