Highest Paid NFL Coaches in 2026

In 1966, the Kansas City Chiefs signed then-head coach Hank Stram to an extension that was believed to be worth at least $30,000 per year. Nearly 60 years later, current Chiefs coach Andy Reid is making over 600 times what Stram once earned with the team.

Much has changed over the decades in the NFL, and that includes salaries for both players and coaches. Here's an updated look at the current list of the top-five highest-paid coaches in the NFL.

The highest-paid coaches in the NFL

T-5. Los Angeles Rams' Sean McVay — $15 million per year

The Rams took a risk when they hired Sean McVay as the youngest coach in the modern era of the NFL, but that risk has paid off. The offensive genius turned the Rams around, and led them to a Super Bowl appearance in his second season. Three years later, he helped the Rams win the franchise's second Super Bowl, and Los Angeles remains a consistent threat under his tutelage. McVay is already the franchise leader in wins by a coach, and has spurned an impressive coaching tree.

McVay most recently signed a four-year extension with the Rams in 2022, which has him signed through the '26 season.

4. Los Angeles Chargers' Jim Harbaugh — $16 million per year

Jim Harbaugh returned to the NFL in 2024 and became one of the highest-paid coaches in the process when he signed a five-year contract with the Chargers. Harbaugh is the league's highest-paid coach that has not won a Super Bowl, but he did lead the 49ers to a Super Bowl appearance in 2012–13 and has a College Football Playoff national championship to boast. He has now turned both the 49ers and Chargers into immediate playoff teams, and has made the postseason in five of six seasons as an NFL head coach.

3. Denver Broncos' Sean Payton — $18 million per year

Sean Payton came out of retirement from coaching in 2023 to become the head coach of the Denver Broncos. The Broncos had to trade a first-round and second-round pick to the New Orleans Saints to hire Payton, and he signed a five-year deal with Denver that's worth about $18 million per year.

Payton has already delivered, leading the Broncos to back-to-back postseason appearances and a division title in 2025. Before joining the Broncos, Payton was also successful for the Saints, leading them to their first ever Super Bowl victory in 2009–10.

T-1. New York Giants’ John Harbaugh — $20 million per year

John Harbaugh ties Andy Reid as the highest-paid head coach in the NFL after signing with the Giants on a $20 million per year deal. Only Reid has more head coaching experience than Harbaugh among active coaches, and both are Super Bowl champions. With the Giants coveting Harbaugh, they handed him a massive deal to ensure he came to New York.

T-1. Kansas City Chiefs' Andy Reid — $20 million per year

There is no active head coach in the NFL that deserves to be the highest-paid more than Andy Reid. Reid is the NFL's most experienced active coach, with the most Super Bowl victories, Super Bowl appearances and wins overall. Reid is a surefire Hall of Famer, and ranks fourth on the prestigious all-time coaching wins list with a 279-157-1 record. He has combined for 307 regular season and postseason wins and is second all-time in career postseason wins, only trailing Bill Belichick.

Reid most recently signed a five-year, $100 million deal with the Chiefs in 2024, following his third Super Bowl win.

How do NFL coach salaries compare to player contracts?

The top NFL head coaches are paid in a similar range to the league's best safeties, linebackers, running backs and tight ends. Even Reid, the NFL's best head coach, makes well below the salary of the league's premier positions—quarterbacks, edge rushers and wide receivers.

Reid and Harbaugh’s annual salary is just below the NFL's highest-paid running back (Saquon Barkley, $20.6 million), safety (Antoine Winfield Jr., $21.5 million) and above the highest-paid tight end (George Kittle, $19.1 million).

How coaching salaries have changed over time

As is the case with all NFL salaries, head coaching salaries have certainly gotten much more lucrative over the years. Don Shula, a two-time Super Bowl champion and the NFL's all-time winningest coach, signed a contract with a reported salary of $70,000 per year back in 1970, per The New York Times. Shula coached for over three decades and saw his salary rise almost exponentially to around $1.4 million annually in 1990, according to the Los Angeles Times.

By 2012, Bill Belichick became the highest-paid coach in the NFL with a salary of $7.5 million per year. Over a decade later, the league's highest-paid coach is making close to triple Belichick's salary from that period.

Who could become the next highest-paid coach?

Unless a coach like McVay or Payton adds another Super Bowl ring to their résumé, it'd be surprising to see any coach top Reid or Harbaugh as the highest-paid sideline leader in the near future. Reid is the NFL's most experienced coach, as well as its most successful.

Harbaugh did tie Reid as the highest-paid coach after signing with the Giants. With the Giants doing everything in their power to lure the Super-Bowl winner to New York, Harbaugh had the leverage to become the highest-paid coach alongside Reid.

Highest-paid NFL assistants and coordinators

Eagles' Vic Fangio is the highest-paid defensive coordinator, making $4.5 million per year, according to Front Office Sports. Since joining the Eagles in 2024, Fangio has helped Philadelphia win a Super Bowl and field one of the league’s top defenses.

Last season, the Raiders made offensive coordinator Chip Kelly the highest-paid coordinator in the NFL with a salary of $6 million. The deal proved to be one of a number of mistakes the Raiders made as Kelly was fired midseason.

How NFL coaching salaries compare to other sports

The highest-paid NFL coaches are making significantly more than the top-paid MLB managers and a little more than the highest-paid NBA coaches. Warriors head coach Steve Kerr is making $17.5 million annually, a mark that only Reid and Payton top. In MLB, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts is earning $8.1 million per year, a figure that 14 NFL coaches currently to p.