NBA head coaches have always made less than the stars they coach, but the gap is closing in a hurry. The top 10 highest-paid head coaches now earn a combined $126 million per season, according to Sportico, and the line between a top-tier coach and a top-tier veteran starting guard is no longer obvious. We broke down the latest contract numbers, the biggest raises of the past two years, and where the rest of the league sits.
How much does the highest-paid NBA head coach make in 2026?
The answer is Steve Kerr at $17.5 million per year. The Warriors and Kerr agreed Tuesday on a two-year, $35 million extension that runs through the 2027-28 season, his 13th on the Golden State bench. According to ESPN’s Shams Charania, the deal «keeps him as the highest-paid coach in the NBA annually», even after Kerr was reportedly offered a seven-figure broadcasting role by ESPN that he turned down to stay on the sideline.
Kerr’s rate matches what he made on his previous extension, signed in February 2024, but it is now the benchmark other front offices use to anchor their own coach negotiations. He has won four NBA championships since taking the job in 2014.
Who are the top 10 highest-paid NBA head coaches?
Here is the 2025-26 ranking compiled by Sportico and Front Office Sports, with annual salaries:
- 1. Steve Kerr — Golden State Warriors — $17.5 million
- 2. Erik Spoelstra — Miami Heat — $15 million
- 2. Tyronn Lue — LA Clippers — $15 million
- 4. Doc Rivers — Milwaukee Bucks — $11 million
- 4. Tom Thibodeau — New York Knicks — $11 million
- 6. Rick Carlisle — Indiana Pacers — $9 million
- 7. Nick Nurse — Philadelphia 76ers — $8.5 million
- 7. Jason Kidd — Dallas Mavericks — $8.5 million
- 9. JJ Redick — Los Angeles Lakers — $8 million
- 9. Quin Snyder — Atlanta Hawks — $8 million
Spoelstra’s number stands out for a different reason: he is on an eight-year, $120-million-plus contract signed in January 2024, the most committed money in North American coaching history, and he has held the Heat job since 2008 — the longest active tenure in the league.
What does the average NBA head coach earn?
The median annual salary for an NBA head coach now sits at roughly $7 million, with a floor close to $4 million for first-year hires on shorter, lower-risk deals. That is a steep climb from a decade ago, when only a handful of coaches were earning eight figures and several were making under $3 million.
A separate caveat: Gregg Popovich, who reportedly earned $19 million per year on his San Antonio Spurs deal before stepping back from the bench in late 2024 for health reasons, is technically still under contract. He no longer appears on the active-coach pay charts, but his number remains the historic peak that Kerr’s new $17.5-million-a-year benchmark is now compared to.
Why have NBA coaching salaries surged so much?
Three forces are pushing the numbers up at the same time.
First, the 2023 collective bargaining agreement pushed the league’s salary cap sharply higher and unlocked enormous national TV revenue from the new $76 billion media-rights deal that begins with the 2025-26 season. With more cash on every team’s books, owners have more room to pay non-roster staff.
Second, head coaches are now expected to manage generational stars on max contracts, navigate the second apron, and work with analytics departments that did not exist in their current form ten years ago. The job has gotten more complex, and the market has priced that in.
Third, there is no salary cap on coaches. The NBA cap applies only to players, so an owner who wants to outbid the field for a Kerr or a Spoelstra can simply do it. The Warriors and Heat both did exactly that.
How does NBA coach pay compare to other US sports — and to the players?
Kerr’s $17.5 million is now within striking distance of the top NFL head coaches: Andy Reid of the Kansas City Chiefs and John Harbaugh of the New York Giants are reported at $20 million a year, with Sean Payton of the Denver Broncos at $18 million. Kerr is comfortably ahead of the top MLB managers, who generally top out around $8-9 million.
Compared to the players he coaches, Kerr earns roughly what a mid-tier NBA starter makes, but only about a third of what a max-contract superstar pulls down. Stephen Curry, his own point guard, is on a deal worth roughly $59.6 million this season. For a fuller picture of the player side of the league pay scale, see our breakdown of NBA salaries and the players who earn the most and our profile of how much Giannis Antetokounmpo actually takes home. NBA coach pay still trails the soccer end of the bench, too — the highest-paid soccer coaches in the world clear $30 million per year at the top.
Who is the most underpaid coach in the league right now?
Almost certainly Mark Daigneault of the Oklahoma City Thunder. He won Coach of the Year in 2024, led OKC to a franchise-record 68 wins and the 2025 NBA championship, and just swept the Los Angeles Lakers in four games to reach the 2026 Western Conference finals. His salary is not publicly disclosed but is widely believed to sit somewhere between $4 million and $6 million on the multi-year extension he signed in July 2023 — well outside the top 10. If the Thunder go back-to-back, that contract becomes the next big domino in the coaching market.
What does this mean for the next round of contracts?
The 2026 offseason is shaping up as the next inflection point. With Kerr’s deal now setting the ceiling at $17.5 million, several coaches whose contracts expire in the next 12 months — including some on this top-10 list — are expected to push for raises in line with the new benchmark. If you follow the league for fantasy, betting, or just out of fan interest, watch the coach market this summer: it tells you which owners are willing to spend through the second apron, and which are not.
What we are watching: whether a Daigneault extension, a Conference Finals upset, or a surprise summer hire pushes the next domino.
[1]
