American football GOAT Bill Belichick may have retired in January, but plenty more successful coaches are still in the game, boasting Super Bowl wins and multimillion-dollar salaries American football is the most popular sport in the United States – and it’s also one of the most lucrative. The National Football League (NFL) is testament to this. Last year, Forbes valued the entire NFL league at US$163 billion, which is almost as much as the NBA and MLB combined.
And it’s not just the value of the league that’s increased – the salaries have too. In the last 30 years, the average coaching salary increased from around US$300,000 to over US$6 million, according to Sportskeeda. But which team coaches have stacked up the largest fortunes? We take a closer look at seven of the richest in the game, with the help of Celebrity Net Worth.
Advertisement 7. Sean McDermott, 50 Team: Buffalo Bills Estimated net worth: US$20 million {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"ImageObject","caption":"Sean McDermott, head coach of the Buffalo Bills.
Photo: Getty Images/AFP","url":"https://img.i-scmp.com/cdn-cgi/image/fit=contain,width=1024,format=auto/sites/default/files/d8/images/canvas/2024/09/20/63af34c6-d775-420b-8122-dd6b82dc7b5c_0112d12e.
jpg"} Sean McDermott, head coach of the Buffalo Bills. Photo: Getty Images/AFP Sean McDermott is no stranger to the NFL universe, previously holding assistant coaching positions with the Philadelphia Eagles and the Carolina Panthers. But it’s his role at the Buffalo Bills that really put him on the map.
Since joining the Bills as head coach in 2017, McDermott has led the team to four consecutive AFC East division titles. 6. Mike Tomlin, 52 Team: Pittsburgh Steelers Estimated net worth: US$30 million {"@context":"https://schema.
org","@type":"ImageObject","caption":"Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin. Photo: AP Photo","url":"https://img.i-scmp.
com/cdn-cgi/image/fit=contain,width=1024,format=auto/sites/default/files/d8/images/canvas/2024/09/20/f7640d6c-282a-42b9-9e1d-05f64b5307a1_9f862d33.jpg"} Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin. Photo: AP Photo Since joining the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2007, coach Tomlin has famously never had a losing season.
Only the 10th African-American head coach in NFL history, Tomlin signed a three-year extension contract in 2021 that saw him earn an impressive US$11.5 million a year, according to Celebrity Net Worth. He signed another three-year extension in June that will see him through to the 2027 season, per AP.
5. Sean Payton, 60 Team: Denver Broncos Estimated net worth: US$35 million {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"ImageObject","caption":"Sean Payton joined the Denver Broncos in 2023.
Photo: Getty Images","url":"https://img.i-scmp.com/cdn-cgi/image/fit=contain,width=1024,format=auto/sites/default/files/d8/images/canvas/2024/09/20/8ed67f95-44c3-42a8-8960-9279f6dcb618_52519f63.
jpg"} Sean Payton joined the Denver Broncos in 2023. Photo: Getty Images Former quarterback Sean Payton is best known for his role as head coach of the New Orleans Saints between 2006 and 2021, which he led to its first Super Bowl victory in 2009. Famous for his ability to develop quarterbacks, Payton joined the Denver Broncos in 2023 where he earns a US$18 million annual salary, according to Sports Illustrated.
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