Highest-Paid NBA Coaches: Reported Salaries

The reported highest-paid NBA head coaches are Steve Kerr of the Golden State Warriors and Gregg Popovich of the San Antonio Spurs, each around $16 to $17.5 million a year through the mid-2020s. Erik Spoelstra, Tyronn Lue and Monty Williams sit just behind them. Read all of these as estimates, not disclosed salaries.

Here is the catch that shapes this whole topic. Unlike player contracts, NBA coaching pay is not public. It counts against no salary cap and is not filed with the union, so the numbers come from reporters with sources close to the deals. A range is honest; a to-the-dollar figure usually is not.

What the top NBA coaches reportedly earn

The figures below are reported annual pay from the mid-2020s. Treat them as informed approximations rather than official records, and expect them to move each offseason.

Coach	Team	Reported annual pay
Steve Kerr	Golden State Warriors	~$17.5M
Gregg Popovich	San Antonio Spurs	~$16M
Erik Spoelstra	Miami Heat	~$15M
Tyronn Lue	LA Clippers	~$14M
Monty Williams	Detroit Pistons	~$13M
Doc Rivers	Milwaukee Bucks	~$10M
Rick Carlisle	Indiana Pacers	~$9M

Popovich appears here because he set the market for years, though he moved off the bench and into the Spurs’ front office in 2025. Kerr is now the name usually cited at the top, after a 2024 extension reported at roughly $35 million over two years lifted him past the field on a per-year basis.

Total value versus annual pay

The top of this list depends on how you count. Spoelstra’s 2024 extension with Miami was reported at about $120 million over eight years, the largest total ever given to an NBA coach. Split across those eight seasons it is roughly $15 million a year, which places him below Kerr and Popovich per season even though his contract is the biggest single commitment in coaching history.

That distinction matters when outlets crown a “highest-paid” coach. A long deal can carry the most total money while paying less per year than a shorter one, so the headline depends on which number is being measured.

Why a coach keeps earning after he is fired

NBA coaching contracts are generally guaranteed, which produces one of the stranger lines in team budgets: paying a coach who no longer works there. Monty Williams was hired by Detroit on a reported six-year, $78.5 million deal, at the time the richest coaching contract in the league, then dismissed well before it ran out. The guaranteed structure meant the Pistons still owed the balance.

This is the same dynamic that shows up across pro sports. A guaranteed deal transfers the risk of a bad hire onto the team, which is why a splashy record-setting salary can turn into a record-setting sunk cost.

What pushes a coach to the top of the list

Two levers set the ceiling: titles and scarcity. Kerr’s pay reflects four championships with Golden State, the kind of résumé that appears on any list of the most NBA championships by a coach. Popovich’s reflected five titles and the longest tenure the league has seen. When a proven champion is available and the alternatives are unproven, the price climbs, because the team is paying to remove a gamble.

Rising franchise values and national television money feed the same trend that inflated player pay. As the league grows richer, a bankable coach becomes more expensive, which is why mid-tier names now report figures that would have led the league a decade ago.

Curious how a title-winning core is actually built? Our 82-0 draft game lets you assemble an all-time starting five and chase a perfect season, the roster-building puzzle these coaches get paid to solve for real.

Where NBA coaching pay sits in the wider sport

Even $17 million a year keeps NBA coaches below the very top of global coaching pay, where a handful of soccer managers and other figures earn more. Our roundup of the richest coaches in sports sets these numbers in that broader context, and our look at the highest-paid NFL coaches shows the same private-salary problem in another league.

Freshness note: these are reported figures from the mid-2020s and change whenever a coach signs a new deal, is fired or moves into a front office. Re-check each offseason, and treat any single-dollar “record salary” as an estimate until a team confirms it, which it almost never does.