There may not be a consensus pick for the title of best coach in the NBA, but chances are, names like Gregg Popovich, Steve Kerr, and Erik Spoelstra are some of the first that come to mind. While Sacramento Kings coach Mike Brown took home the well-deserved Coach of the Year honors in 2023 after leading his team to their first playoff appearance since 2006, each of the names above has multiple trophies or rings sitting at home.
Why does any of this matter? Well, after the Detroit Pistons signed head coach Monty Williams to a six-year, $78 million contract, some are expecting the NBA coach salary market to reset next offseason, with the best of the best receiving a big raise.
According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, NBA head coach salaries could reach as high as $20 million per season by 2024. He specifically names leaders like Kerr, Spoelstra, and Los Angeles Clippers coach Tyronn Lue as candidates for a big raise after seeing the contract Williams signed in Detroit.
“It’s going to significantly impact the head coaching landscape for high level coaches including Miami’s Erik Spoelstra and Golden State’s Steve Kerr. Both of those coaches have one year left, next season, on their deals. Both, I’m told, in the $8 million annual range right now. Both coaches, when you talk to owners and executives around the league, if they were on the open market might be able to get what Sean Payton got: in the neighborhood of $20 million per year.”
NBA insider Adrian Wojnarowski on skyrocketing coaching salaries
Sean Payton may not be an NBA coach, but he too, seemingly reset the market when it comes to the NFL, where he reportedly signed a contract that pays around $18 million per year, making him one of the highest-paid coaches in professional football.
Now according to Woj, the NBA could be on the verge of entering the same stratosphere when it comes to head coach salaries.
Yet, Williams receiving an average annual value of $13 million per season may have only happened because he hit the open market, with so many other teams desperate to find a proven coach who can quickly change the team’s atmosphere like the Pistons are looking to do. Williams had the ability to pit one team against another — a situation coaches don’t often find themselves in.
For example, if coach Spo suddenly demanded a big raise, he wouldn’t be able to use other teams offers as leverage. He’d only be negotiating with Miami. Still, in a case like that, chances are the two sides find another way to make the numbers work without causing a breakup. Williams found himself in a different situation, and his bank account is now in a much better place because of it.
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