How Much Do NFL Coaches Make - Is it a Guaranteed Job? | TSR (2024)

FAQs

Are NFL coaches salaries fully guaranteed? ›

The main difference is that coaches always have guaranteed contracts. If the team is doing well, the contract could be extended. If the team is doing badly, the coach can be dropped at any time. But the team is still on the hook for his money.

Unlike the vast majority of player contracts, coaching contracts are effectively guaranteed.

With two more coaches getting axed on Black Monday—joining the handful who lost their jobs before the 2022 regular season even finished—there are now five official openings this offseason.

“Deshaun Watson's contract is truly transformational,” Mike Tannenbaum, a former executive with the Miami Dolphins and the New York Jets, tells Forbes. “Every dollar of it is guaranteed. That's game-changing.” Part of the controversy surrounding the contract is moral.

For years, clubs have told agents that a main reason for not guaranteeing contracts was the “funding rule” – an archaic league rule that says teams must put into escrow an amount of money equal to what they are guaranteeing a player in any contract beyond the first year.

The average salary for an NFL mascot in 2022 is about $60,000 per year.

Thieneman's latest clip, which drew nearly 300,000 viewers in one day, claims that the average NFL water boy salary is actually around $53,000. That figure is also reported elsewhere, such as the sports website Stack, although data from the league itself isn't readily available.

This is an example of financial inequality in the NFL. Coaches that are fired are paid all the money in their contract, whereas players that get cut are forced to fend for themselves and will not see another penny from that contract, regardless of any pleas.

A report just last year from NBC News pinpointed the average pay for NFL cheerleaders to be about $150 a game, or roughly $22,500 a year, which is not much different than what it was reported to be in the original Raiders lawsuit.

What is the lowest NFL coach salary? ›

The lowest-paid coaches in the NFL are in a five-way tie. Gus Bradley (Jacksonville Jaguars), Mike Pettine (Cleveland Browns), Joe Philbin (now ex Miami Dolphins HC), Jack Del Rio (Oakland Raiders), and Jim Tomsula (San Francisco 49ers) all make $3.5 million.

Only three years ago, the average salary for assistant coaches was in the $150,000-$175,000 range. There are position coaches now pulling in $400,000 or more per season.

Which NFL head coaches have been traded? The exact number of head coach trades in NFL history is unclear. But there have now been seven deals involving big-name head coaches over the last 25-plus years. Three of the six prior trades resulted in at least one Super Bowl for the acquiring team.

Coach 4: “One of the biggest differences is once our season is over in the NFL, most staffs are in the office for the next three-to-five days to have exit interviews with players and staff and, after that, staffs are typically off till after the Super Bowl.

How do you become a coach in the NFL? Becoming a coach in the NFL requires professional coaching experience either at the national, international or college level. The positions at NFL are pretty competitive, so those who demonstrate prior skills in transforming players into legends are given preference.

NFL players don't get paid like they work a nine-to-five job, which they clearly don't. They earn a weekly salary but only during the season with conditions set on whether they play and how they perform. Like other workers they get bonuses that are paid outside the regular schedule of payments.

Long story short, each NFL player under contract gets paid every week from the start of the season and up to its end. Game checks are usually deposited into the players' bank accounts on Monday mornings, although the exact day of the week when they get paid could vary from week to week.

What NFL position has the lowest average salary? At the bottom of the salary leaderboard is special teams, averaging $2.775 million. Among the special teams contingency, kickers consistently occupy the highest-paid spots over punters and long snappers.

Ticketing and Rentals. Apart from the rapidly increasing money from TV deals, ticket sales represent a significant source of income for individual NFL clubs. NFL games typically sell out, with an estimated average ticket price of $151 and a stadium capacity of roughly 70,000.

Who has the lowest salary in the NFL? ›

The special teamers unsurprisingly earn the least at $2.775 million on average. Kickers, punters, and long snappers earn the bulk of that. Among offensive and defensive players, the lowest paid are the running backs because of their lower shelf life and ability to find fresher players off the draft.

Yes, mascots get world series rings.

Former NFL player Jake Thieneman claimed in a TikTok clip that an average NFL water boy makes around $53.000, noting that the actual figure depends on the team's status and the applicant's experience. "Now, there's a misconception that these people just hand out water and towels," Thieneman said.

The marquee players will get their own rooms, and some of them might even get something really plush. But for rookies and lesser known players, they will have to bunk up with a teammate.

But there are no rules against bathroom breaks in Roger Goodell's NFL. And so it is that players celebrating too much after a touchdown can often expect a hefty fine, while coaches and players are free to do the pee-pee dance on the AstroTurf.

To be clear, if we use the aforementioned 2019 report, NFL referees receive approximately $12,000 per regular season game.

How long to be vested in NFL pension? If you have earned three or more credited seasons since 1993, you are vested, meaning you are entitled to benefits negotiated under the CBA.

After the draft, coaches prepare for free agency and get ready to work with what is now a different team from last season. Coaches spend the offseason reviewing techniques to improve the team through self and system evaluations. The work never stops and before you know it, it's time for training camp.

How much do NFL dance teams make? ›

How much do NFL cheerleaders make in comparison to other participants on the field? NFL cheerleaders tend to make about $150 per game, or $22,500 per year, on average. Meanwhile, NFL waterboys usually make $53,000 per year and NFL mascots make $25,000 per season.

And indeed, cheerleaders who work in the Cowboys' squad (called the “American Sweethearts”) are paid far better than others in the industry. Cowboy cheerleaders make around $15 to $20 per hour or around $500 per match. By doing napkin math, that adds up to a respectable $75,000 a year.

Most NFL cheerleading squads are a part-time job.

Do NFL coaches get a bonus for winning the Super Bowl? While all of the players on a Super Bowl-winning team receive cash bonuses for their victory, there is no official bonus structure for NFL coaches who win the Super Bowl.

Sanders will be the highest-paid coach in CU history and is set to make $5.5 million in base and supplemental salary in the first year of his deal. He will receive annual raises of $200,000, topping out at $6.3 million for the final year of the contract.

But regardless of whether the Kansas City Chiefs or Philadelphia Eagles take the title, their players are getting paid. Based on the NFL's collective bargaining agreement, players on the winning team in Super Bowl LVII will receive $157,000 apiece.

Simply put, everyone on the winning roster, along with coaches, executives, and practice squad players, receives a coveted Super Bowl Ring.

$15-$40/hr NFL Quality Control Coach Jobs (NOW HIRING)

That said, Thieneman was sure to point out the benefits of the role. As he explained, water boys also get to travel with the team and spend time with players, in addition to other perks.

Do NFL coaches make more than the players? ›

Coaches may not have the same NFL salaries as star quarterbacks, but the highest-paid NFL coaches still make more than most NFL players. What is the salary of an NFL coach?

How does the trade of a player affect the team's Salary Cap? For the team trading the player, a trade is pretty much treated the same as the release of a player – the team is relieved of paying all future base salaries, but still must account for the bonus money that has already been paid to the player.

The main difference is that coaches always have guaranteed contracts. If the team is doing well, the contract could be extended. If the team is doing badly, the coach can be dropped at any time. But the team is still on the hook for his money.

But this is a question of training one's body, not simply drawing down on the additional 1,464 hours of Strategic Accrued Sleep Reserve to cancel out the five or so hours of sleep per night that coaches presently get during the NFL season.

Full-time coaches may work more than 40 hours a week for several months during the sports season. Work schedules for coaches and scouts vary and may involve irregular hours, including evenings, weekends, and holidays. They may need to travel frequently.

The Average NFL Waterboy Gets Paid More Than You, And If Their Team Wins The Super Bowl – They Get A Ring.

NFL waterboys typically make between $53,000 and $58,000 per year. However, not every waterboy you see on TV is paid. Many waterboys and assistants are unpaid or are working at a discounted rate on an internship for high school or college.

The qualifications of an NFL waterboy are a high school diploma or equivalent education. Beyond high school, there are no educational requirements as there are other skills that are more relevant for being a waterboy. Good communication skills are also great for becoming a waterboy for the NFL.

There are 53 on an NFL roster. That's a LOT more to guarantee out. The owners don't ever want to have to give up more than they absolutely must. With fully guaranteed contracts, EVERY PENNY counts towards the salary cap and there are fewer loopholes to maneuver money around for a better cap deal.

In fact, though we know everything there is to know about player salaries, the NFL doesn't reveal much about its finances beyond that. NFL franchises are not public institutions, and thus their coaches' salaries are not subjected to being FOIA'd like their college counterparts.

How much money is owed to fired NFL coaches? ›

In that same timeframe, six different people led the front office. According to a report, the NFL sent out a financial warning about the overall costs of the consistent hiring and firing process. In the past five years, owners have paid out $800 million to pay fired coaches and executives.

Do NFL players keep guaranteed money if they retire? When an NFL player retires, all of the dead money on their contract counts against the current year's salary cap. As far as the salary cap goes, player retirement is treated the same as if a player were cut or traded by the team.

The Chiefs' Todd Haley, for reasons that were not entirely his fault, never actually played the sport that now employs him as a head coach in the National Football League. An NFL head coach who did not play football? Who hasn't run a route, made a tackle or thrown a block at any level? At least Haley, 42, is unique.

Deion Sanders' private jet has landed at Tampa International!!

Saban's 2022 salary will be $10.7 million, and it will rise to $12.7 million in 2029.

Deion Sanders and the University of Colorado agreed to a five-year, $29.5 million deal that will earn him $5.5 million in the first year through a variety of means (h/t Keeler):

In addition to their base annual salaries, NFL coaches can sometimes earn large bonuses for getting their teams to the playoffs and a huge bonus if their team wins the Super Bowl.

Six of the seven highest coaching salaries are in the world's richest sports league, led by Bill Belichick with estimated annual earnings of $20 million per year, followed by Pete Carroll ($15 million) and Sean McVay ($14 million).

Bill Belichick, New England Patriots

His many NFL records include the most Super Bowl wins as a head coach and overall (6 and 8), most Super Bowl appearances as a head coach and overall (9 and 12), most playoff wins as a head coach (31), and most divisional championships as a head coach (17).

But what about head coaches? Their money doesn't count against the cap, and few coaches see the end of a contract. If the team is succeeding, a coach will get an extension before his current deal is up.

Can an NFL coach be thrown out of a game? ›

In baseball and basketball, managers and coaches are routinely ejected from games for yelling at officials. In the NFL, that never happens: No head coach in NFL history has ever been ejected from a game.

Lovie Smith of the Houston Texans on Sunday was the first N.F.L. coach to be dismissed at the end of the regular season after the team limped to a 3-13-1 record, ending with a 32-31 win over the Indianapolis Colts. Smith was the second successive Texans head coach to be fired after just one season.