Is Patriots’ Bill Belichick the highest paid coach in the entire NFL?

One aspect of the NFL that often doesn’t get talked about are coaches salaries. Where does Patriots’ Bill Belichick fall in this category?

What makes us middle class folks perhaps feel even smaller in the grand scheme of things are reading headlines when a player signs a massive contract, likely exceeding tens of millions of dollars.  For NFL head coaches, they can still cash in as well.

Head coaches are similar to players in that they are often paid based on how well they do their jobs.  As you can imagine, veteran, successful coaches like Sean McVay and Mike Tomlin are likely getting paid top dollar.

Newbie coaches like Nathaniel Hackett Matt Eberflus are likely making pennies compared to what some other coaches are making.  So, of the 32 head coaches in the NFL, where does our very own Bill Belichick stand?

In an article released last month in nbcsports.com, Logan Reardon outlines the salaries of roughly half of NFL head coaches.

What is interesting about these numbers is that they aren’t always easily available like player salaries, so it’s sometimes hard to figure out who is getting paid what.

Sean McVay is likely the highest paid coach in the NFL, making somewhere between $15-$18 million per year, as the article outlines.

Coming it at number two is Bill Belichick, who is making $12.5 million per season.  His six Super Bowl rings likely are a large factor in his pay.

Rounding out the top five in order are Pete Carroll, Kyle Shanahan, and John Harbaugh.

Buffalo Bills’ head coach Sean McDermott makes $8 million per season, and Robert Saleh makes $5 million per season.

McDermott’s salary ranks 10th in the NFL, and Saleh’s ranks 15th.  There are many coaches with unknown salaries, including first year head coach Mike McDaniel of the Miami Dolphins.

If I had to guess, I would think that McDaniel is likely between $3-$5 million himself.

The young, offensive minded head coaches are becoming more and more in demand in the NFL, so team’s are likely having to pay more for a head coach than they normally would.

Uber successful head coaches, or those who have GM duties like Bill Belichick are clearly getting paid more.

So, even with the last two seasons not being ideal for Patriots’ Nation, does a $12.5 million salary sound fair for the great Bill Belichick?