The Price of Obtaining Sean Payton

The Arizona Cardinals are in search of their ninth head coach since the organization rebranded from "Phoenix Cardinals" to "Arizona Cardinals" in 1994.

Plenty of names have come and gone in that time, yet no Super Bowls have been brought to the desert despite a couple close encounters.

After Kliff Kingsbury's fourth season crashed and burned in unspectacular fashion, owner Michael Bidwill decided to end the experiment and made the decision to seek new blood on Monday.

Various options are on the market with limited competition: Arizona is just one of five teams that are active in the coaching carousel, joined by Denver, Indianapolis, Carolina and Houston.

A handful of candidates have emerged for the vacancy: Vance Joseph has been in the walls of the building since 2019, knows the players/personnel and already has an established relationship with Bidwill. Other defensive minds such as Brian Flores and DeMeco Ryans are well respected in their own right.

Then, there's Sean Payton.

Payton's been the league's coveted candidate after retiring from the New Orleans Saints following the 2021 season. Although he spent this season as a TV personality, Payton is still technically under contract with New Orleans.

Should a team want to hire Payton, they'll have to negotiate a trade with the Saints that will cost a pretty penny for the Super Bowl-winning coach.

The Price of Obtaining Sean Payton

New Orleans is reportedly asking for a first-round pick in exchange for Payton's services.

Payton wouldn't be the first coach officially traded, but it is fairly rare. Recent examples include:

The Oakland Raiders trading Jon Gruden to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for two first-round picks, two second-round picks and $8 million cash.
The New York Jets trading Herm Edwards to the Kansas City Chiefs for a fourth-round pick.
The Cardinals themselves traded Bruce Arians (and a seventh-round pick) to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for a sixth-round pick.

Obviously, the returns vary across the board. Yet New Orleans wants a first-round pick, and one source familiar with the Saints doesn't believe they'll do Payton any favors by budging on the price.

It could all be a negotiation tactic. Why sell yourself short if you're the Saints?

Anonymous league executives spoke to CBS Sports on the Saints' asking price:

"I'd assume Mickey's shooting for a 1 but that's unrealistic in my opinion," said one executive. "But you can't argue with history."

Another said: "You'd ask for a 1 but settle for a 2 and 4 or some equal combination."

According to Saints general manager Mickey Loomis, interested teams (Arizona, Denver and Houston all were given permission to speak with Payton) enter talks with Payton knowing he won't come cheap:

“We haven’t settled on exactly what the compensation is going to be yet, but they’re well aware that there is going to be compensation,” Loomis said (h/t Pro Football Talk)

“It’s going to be different for every team because they have different picks and different things available to them. They have to get our permission to have a discussion with him, and then we have to have the compensation settled before they can actually hire him.”

So, it sounds like the Cardinals are well aware of what it will take considering they got the nod from New Orleans. But will they do it?

Arizona has the No. 3 pick in this year's NFL Draft, a prized possession that can either be used to reload on draft capital or take a potential cornerstone player to help turn the tide.

While it's unknown currently if Arizona will specifically deal that pick, that doesn't rule out the potential to deal future first-round picks according to NFL insider Ben Allbright.

Think they'd give a future 1 https://t.co/YEdpFzBzOm
— Benjamin Allbright (@AllbrightNFL) January 12, 2023

Compensation will be paid to New Orleans in some fashion, but that's not the only price attributed in this deal.

Payton is expected to demand a hefty salary should he come out of retirement. That figure, by multiple estimations/reports, is rumored to be $20 million or more annually.

On January 3rd According to Colin Cowherd of FS1, the Broncos might consider offering Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh a salary of $20 million.

If the Broncos pursue Sean Payton, they would reportedly offer more than $20 million for the 2023 season.
— Mike Jurecki (@mikejurecki) January 11, 2023

That's a steep price to pay considering Bidwill is still responsible for the rest of Kingsbury's contract. Though coaching contracts are typically not made public (since it doesn't apply to the salary cap), Kingsbury reportedly had his contract guaranteed through 2027 making roughly $5.5 million per season according to NFL insider Dov Kleiman:

In 2022, Kliff Kingsbury signed a fully guaranteed contract extension that runs through 2027 and reportedly pays him around $5.5 million per year.

He really has no reason to rush his return to the NFL.
— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) January 14, 2023

In total, paying Kingsbury out until 2027 (five seasons multiplied by 5.5) will total Bidwill at $27.5 million. Plug that on top of $20+ million annually Payton will command, and the price ramps up fairly quick. A five-year deal for Payton would be $100 million for him alone.

The potential price to bring Payton on could extend to nine figures in guaranteed money the Cardinals will pay out on top of parting with elite draft capital for the future.

Will Payton be worth it? Opinions vary left and right, but it seems Arizona is willing to play ball.

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