In recent years, NFL player salaries seem to have grown by leaps and bounds for star players, but what is the top NFL coaches’ salary in 2022? How much do the highest-paid NFL coaches get paid in today’s game?
Perhaps more importantly, who’s the lucky coach who is setting the curve and making more money than his peers during the 2022 season?
NFL coaches salary 2022
Fortunately, we did the research for you in figuring out the highest NFL coaches’ salary in 2022. The list might be a little surprising, as it’s probably a little different than a ranking of the best head coaches in the league.
Nevertheless, here is the list of the 10 highest-paid NFL coaches during the 2022 season.
T8. Sean McDermott, $8 million
Sean McDermott was young and unproven as a head coach when he got to Buffalo, but he’s earned a right to be one of the top-10 highest-paid coaches in the league.
Over his first five seasons in Buffalo, McDermott has taken the Bills to the playoffs four times, winning the AFC East in back-to-back seasons. If not for the Chiefs, the Bills may have already made it back to the Super Bowl. However, there’s no doubt that McDermott is coaching one of the elite teams in the NFL in 2022, earning his paycheck.
T8. Andy Reid, $8 million
It’s almost ridiculous that Andy Reid isn’t among the top two or three highest-paid coaches in the NFL. The guy has been a head coach in this league for more than 20 years and has 17 playoff appearances (and counting) under his belt.
Granted, he’s always been at a good organization and had good players. But even before the emergence of Patrick Mahomes, Reid was winning with the Chiefs and getting them to the playoffs. He’s on the shortlist of the best coaches in the NFL and is probably a little underpaid at $8 million per year.
T8. Mike Tomlin, $8 million
When the Steelers won Super Bowl XLIII, Mike Tomlin was the youngest head coach to ever win a Super Bowl. The results since then have been nearly as good, as Pittsburgh remains one of the most consistent teams in the NFL from one year to the next.
It all starts with Tomlin, who has won at least eight games in each of his first 15 seasons as a head coach. There aren’t many coaches who can create that level of consistency over that long a period of time.
7. Matt Rhule, $8.5 million
It’s safe to say that Matt Rhule won’t be among the NFL’s highest-paid coaches during the 2023 season. The Panthers took a chance on him in 2020 after Rhule did an incredible job of turning around both Temple and Baylor at the college level. But it seems that Rhule is one of those coaches who is better suited for college than the NFL.
He won just five games in each of his first two seasons and was let go after a 1-4 start to the 2022 season. If Rhule’s NFL career ends here, it’ll end with an 11-27 record.
T5. Frank Reich, $9 million
Frank Reich is definitely one of the biggest surprises on a list of the highest coaching salaries in the NFL. He was part of Jim Caldwell’s staff that was let go after a 2-14 season in 2011. But after he won the Super Bowl as the offensive coordinator of the Eagles, the Colts brought him back and made him one of the highest-paid coaches in the league.
It’s been a mixed bag for Reich so far, getting Indy to the playoffs twice but not winning a division title. In other words, the jury is still out in deciding if Reich is worth his salary.
T5. John Harbaugh, $9 million
For what it’s worth, John Harbaugh’s $9 million salary in 2022 is about $2 million more than his younger brother is making as the head coach at Michigan. It also puts him among the highest-paid coaches in the NFL, and for good reason. Harbaugh has been in Baltimore since 2008, which is probably longer than most fans realize.
While there have been a few down years that nearly cost him his job, Harbaugh has taken the Ravens to the playoffs nine times in his first 14 seasons. Even more impressive, they won at least one game in seven of those nine playoff appearances, reaching the AFC Championship Game three times and winning Super Bowl XLVII.
There’s only been one season under Harbaugh in which the Ravens failed to win at least eight games, and that level of consistency has to be worth at least $9 million per year.
4. Kyle Shanahan, $9.5 million
Coaching is in Kyle Shanahan’s blood, and he’s surely starting to show that. In fairness, he was just 10-22 in his first two seasons, not exactly earning his salary. But Shanahan has been able to flip the script in recent years, leading the 49ers to the NFC Championship Game in both 2019 and 2021, including a trip to the Super Bowl.
Keep in mind that he did that with Jimmy Garoppolo at quarterback, making San Francisco one of the last four teams standing while teams with far better quarterbacks were watching from home. That’s the sign of a coach who should be among the five highest-paid coaches in the NFL.
3. Pete Carroll, $11 million
Pete Carroll is a great example of how teams pay coaches more when they show longevity. In Carroll’s case, he’s been in Seattle since 2010 and took the Seahawks to the playoffs in nine of his first 12 seasons.
That’s the type of consistency that most NFL teams can only dream about, which is why Carroll keeps getting more money every time he requires a contract extension. After a 7-10 campaign in 2021, it was fair to wonder if Carroll was still worth that kind of money. But the Seahawks turned into one of the more overachieving teams in 2022, and it’s because Carroll is still a top-flight head coach.
2. Bill Belichick, $12.5 million
There’s no doubt that Bill Belichick is already among the greatest head coaches in NFL history. While many fans of rival teams dislike him because of the dynasty he built in New England, the fact of the matter is that he built that dynasty, albeit with a lot of help from Tom Brady.
The Patriots know that Belichick is the brains behind the operation, and they’ve agreed to pay him accordingly. At this point, he’s probably not quite worth $12.5 million per season, as the Pats have become a far more modest team. But New England is paying now for past success under Belichick, which is just how it works sometimes.
1. Sean McVay, $15-18 million
At somewhere between $15 and $18 million, Sean McVay tops the list for the highest NFL coaches’ salary in 2022. After all, he’s the most recent coach to lead his team to a Super Bowl win.
Obviously, he isn’t as accomplished in his career as some of the coaches making less money than him who have been around much longer. But in terms of value, the guy is only 36 years old and is already in his sixth season as an NFL coach. In his first five seasons, McVay made the playoffs four times, culminating in a Super Bowl win.
He was also 55-26 during the regular season in those first five years. McVay has hit the ground running as an NFL coach and could only get better with more experience. The Rams need to make sure they pay him accordingly because they have a chance to have an elite coach leading them for a long time to come.
