BREAKING NEWS: NBA basketball head coach salary increase up to…

admin January 31, 2025

Last month, the Sacramento Kings fired Mike Brown, whose résumé featured back-to-back winning seasons—the first for the franchise in two decades—and two NBA Coach of the Year awards, including the only unanimous win in 2023.

The firing shocked his fellow coaches, coming just six months and 31 regular season games after the Kings gave Brown a three-year contract extension with an average base salary of $8.5 million annually. This is the reality of life in the NBA; just five coaches have led their current teams for five full seasons.

Owners are quick to pull the plug on the person on the sideline, as roster turnover is much harder to orchestrate. Coaches can take some solace that their paychecks are larger than ever and typically guaranteed. The top 10 will earn an estimated $126 million this season in base pay, up 30% over last year—the total is $135 million if you figure in the tie for 10th between Jason Kidd and Nick Nurse. The salary figures are based on conversations with teams, agents and executive recruiters, as well as published reports. Incentives can boost pay further.

($17.5 million) leads the way, ahead of Gregg Popovich ($17 million), Erik Spoelstra ($15 million) and Tyronn Lue ($15 million). Kerr (two years), Spoelstra (eight years) and Lue (five years) all signed contract extensions in 2024 that roughly doubled the average annual value (AAV) of their prior deals.

The new pacts helped 13 NBA coaches rank among the 50 highest-paid coaches in all pro and college sports before Brown’s dismissal. Kerr sits behind only a pair of NFL bosses, Andy Reid ($20 million) and Sean Payton ($18 million).

The NBA coaching market was reset in 2023 when the Detroit Pistons hired Monty Williams with a six-year, $78.5 million contract. Before Williams, only one NBA coach earned $10 million a year—the San Antonio Spurs’ Popovich.

In the 13 months after the Williams hire, seven more coaches signed eight-figure deals. Williams was fired after one season, in which Detroit posted its worst record in franchise history at 14-68. The Pistons still owe Williams $65 million, a record amount of “dead money” for NBA coaches.

The coaching salaries below are based on the AAV of their current deals, including extensions.