Sportico’s ranking of the highest-paid coaches in sports is based on conversations with teams, agents and executive recruiters, as well as published reports. They are ranked by the estimated average annual value (AAV) of their contracts before incentives. The breakdown by sports and league: 15 coaches in college football, 12 in the NFL, 7 in the NBA, 2 in college basketball and one newly minted MLB manager in Craig Counsell, recently hired by the Chicago Cubs who signed a five-year deal worth roughly $8.25 million per year.

Coaches were all active as of Nov. 28, 2023, with Frank Reich just missing the cutoff after being fired by the Carolina Panthers a day earlier. We did not factor in the eight or so global soccer managers earning at least $10 million per year, led by Diego Simeone (Atletico Madrid) and Pep Guardiola (Manchester City).

Below is more on the top five.

Bill Belichick has topped Sportico’s list during each of its three iterations. While many contracts are publicly revealed or discussed among team executives and agents, Belichick’s deal is closely guarded within a small circle that doesn’t extend much beyond the coach and New England Patriots owners Robert and Jonathan Kraft. We estimate his current extension signed in 2023 is worth roughly $25 million a year as the six-time Super Bowl winner suffers through this worst NFL season in 29 years of coaching.

Sean Payton returned to the sidelines with the Denver Broncos in 2023 and signed a five-year contract that ranks second based on AAV. His contract with the New Orleans Saints where he won the 2009 Super Bowl was worth $14 million a year before he walked away from coaching after the 2021 season.

Gregg Popovich has been the NBA’s top-paid coach for more than a decade. He got a raise in 2023 when he signed a five-year deal worth roughly $16 million annually. The Spurs had the No. 1 overall draft pick for the third time under Pop and selected Victor Wembanyama; the first two, David Robinson and Tim Duncan, are both in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

Pete Carroll turned 72 at the start of the 2023 NFL season and is the league’s oldest coach, seven months older than Belichick. Carroll is one of three head coaches to win a college football national championship and a Super Bowl.

Sean McVay is in his seventh season with the Rams but at 37 years old, he is still the NFL’s youngest coach. Los Angeles re-did his contract in the summer of 2022, months after he led the team to a Super Bowl win.