Want more from Front Office Sports
in your search results?
Andy Reid, with his three Super Bowl titles, and John Harbaugh are the highest-paid coaches in the NFL, along with the Broncos’ Sean Payton.
Reid signed a five-year extension in early 2024. The deal is reported to be worth $20 million per year, eclipsing the previous highest earner—Bill Belichick—before he left New England after the 2023 season.
Reid began the 2026 campaign fourth all-time in wins (279) and fourth in games over .500 in his career (122). He is also the only active NFL coach with multiple Super Bowl wins, with three.
John Harbaugh signed a five-year, $100 million contract in January 2026 to become the head coach of the Giants.
The longtime Ravens coach signed a three-year extension before the 2025 season that was supposed to keep him in Baltimore through 2028; owner Steve Bisciotti relieved him of his duties after the team’s week 18 loss to Pittsburgh. Harbaugh, who won a Super Bowl in 2012 and reached the playoffs 12 times with the Ravens, is the fifth non-interim head coach of the Giants since Tom Coughlin resigned after the 2015–16 season.
Finally, Broncos head coach Sean Payton signed a five-year contract in June that runs through the 2030 season; it replaces his previous contract, reported to be $18 million.
Payton was the AP Coach of the Year in 2006 and won the Super Bowl in 2009—both with the Saints. He briefly retired after the 2021 season but returned to coach the Broncos two years later, with Denver sending a first-round pick to New Orleans for Payton’s rights.
Six other coaches reportedly make above $15 million annually. They include the 49ers’ Kyle Shanahan and Sean McVay, who became the youngest coach in the NFL when he was hired at just 30 years old in 2017. He won the Super Bowl with the Rams in 2021 and has won more than 10 games in seven of his nine seasons.
Jim Harbaugh of the Chargers is sixth, earning $16 million annually. Harbaugh made a high-profile return to the NFL in 2024 after leading his alma mater Michigan to its first college football national championship since 1997. He made an instant impact in L.A., leading the Chargers to back-to-back 11-win seasons, a six-win improvement from 2023.
Another notable high-earner is Nick Sirianni, who more than doubled his salary from $7 million to $15 million in an extension after winning Super Bowl LIX in 2025. He has never missed the playoffs as head coach of the Eagles, winning his third division title this season.
Ben Johnson and Aaron Glenn, the former Lions’ offensive and defensive coordinators, respectively, are two of the more junior head coaches near the top of the list. Johnson and Glenn both signed five-year deals, with Johnson’s paying $13 million annually and Glenn’s coming in slightly below at $12 million. They had varying levels of success in 2025—their first seasons at the helm—with Johnson’s Bears earning the No. 2 seed in the NFC, while Glenn’s Jets finished with the No. 2 pick in the upcoming draft.
One name who recently exited the list is Mike Tomlin, former head coach of the Steelers. Tomlin was the longest-tenured head coach in the NFL before stepping down as Pittsburgh’s head coach after the team’s loss to the Texans in the 2025 wild-card round. He spent 19 years with the Steelers and never had a losing season, tying Belichick for second all-time to Tom Landry for most consecutive non-losing seasons.
Ranking the Highest-Paid NFL Head Coaches
NFL coaches earn some of the highest salaries in sports, including college football. Eight NFL coaches earn more annually than Kirby Smart and Lane Kiffin, who are the highest paid college football coaches at $13 million.
Here is the list of the highest-paid NFL coaches of 2026, based on data collected by Sportico.
Last Updated: Nov. 3, 2026
| Rank | Coach | Team | Total Compensation |
| T-1 | Andy Reid | Kansas City Chiefs | $20 million |
| T-1 | John Harbaugh | New York Giants | $20 million |
| T-1 | Sean Payton | Denver Broncos | $20 million |
| T-4 | Sean McVay | Los Angeles Rams | $19 million |
| T-4 | Kyle Shanahan | San Francisco 49ers | $19 million |
| 6 | Jim Harbaugh | Los Angeles Chargers | $16 million |
| T-7 | Matt LaFleur | Green Bay Packers | $15 million |
| T-7 | Kevin Stefanski | Atlanta Falcons | $15 million |
| T-7 | Nick Sirianni | Philadelphia Eagles | $15 million |
| 10 | Mike Vrabel | New England Patriots | $14 million |
| T-11 | Ben Johnson | Chicago Bears | $13 million |
| T-11 | Kevin O’Connell | Minnesota Vikings | $13 million |
| T-13 | Aaron Glenn | New York Jets | $12 million |
| T-13 | Jesse Minter | Baltimore Ravens | $12 million |
| T-13 | Klint Kubiak | Las Vegas Raiders | $12 million |
Related Lists:
Download the FOS App
The business of sports, in your pocket.
Scan the QR code to get the app now.
