NBA coaches have a very hard job and they are partially responsible for every victory that their team wins. For good reasons, the NBA coach salary is one of the highest in the field.
In spite of this pressing factor, NBA coaches don’t make a similar income when contrasted with the players. Still, all things considered, it is one of the most lucrative positions around.
While the job of NBA coaches became increasingly harder and tougher every year, some of them still make an incredible job with lots of victories and, for this reason, get a very high salary.
Current NBA salary trackers show that top NBA player salaries now exceed $50 million per season. While NBA coach salaries are high, there is a significant difference between them both. This is why we’ll go through the average salaries of experienced coaches today.
From the experience of Steve Kerr to the titles of Erik Spoelstra and more, we’ll go through the NBA coach salary as well as how these coaches got where they are.
Here below, you will find some of the highest reported NBA coach salaries that you need to know.
Top Reported Highest-Paid NBA Coaches
Most NBA coaches don’t earn as much as some players. However, as you will be able to see below, some NBA Coach salaries are still very high and they live on pretty comfortable standards.
If you’re here to know the highest-paid NBA coaches, their salary, how they got there, and their titles, make sure to read below to have a better idea of why NBA coaches are well paid.
Steve Kerr, Golden State Warriors (reported $17.5 million)
Steve Kerr is another head coach that has years of experience as a player behind him. First of all, he won 4 consecutive NBA titles as a player from 1996 to 1999. Also, he used to hold the record for the highest three-point percentage in a single season with 52.4%.
Kerr played in numerous teams as a player hence why he has so much experience as a head coach today. In the 1988-1989 season, he was selected as part of the Phoenix Suns. After this, he joined the Cleveland Cavaliers for 3 years, from 1989 to 1992.
He was then, in the 1992-1993 season, with the Orlando Magic. After this, he became an exceptional player for the Chicago Bulls for 6 years, from 1993 to 1999. Following this 6-year successful part of his career, he then joined the San Antonio Spurs, the Portland Trail Blazers where he played 65 games, and eventually the Spurs again for 1 season before retiring.
Steve Kerr started a new career as a consultant and general manager of the Phoenix Suns from 2004 to 2010.
Eventually, he started his new head coach career at the Golden State Warriors from 2014 until today.
Kerr is the first coach in history to win more than 67 wins in 3 consecutive seasons and is overall one of the most experienced individuals in the whole of the NBA. This is why he clearly deserves one of the highest NBA coach salaries.
In February 2024, Steve Kerr signed a two-year, $35 million contract extension with the Golden State Warriors, a reported average of $17.5 million per year that runs through the 2025–26 season.
Erik Spoelstra, Miami Heat (reported over $15 million)
Erik Spoelstra is a professional basketball coach and the current head of the Miami Heat. He became head coach of the Miami Heat in 2008 and never left the team and the position since.
In the 2012–13 season, Spoelstra was named head coach of the 2013 Eastern Conference All-Stars in the 2013 NBA All-Star Game, when he was the Miami Heat’s leader in wins. He went on to lead the Heat to a 27-game winning streak (third-longest in NBA history).
Following the signings of LeBron James and Chris Bosh in 2010, expectations for the team’s success were significantly increased for the following season and beyond. After the Miami Heat began the 2010–2011 campaign with a 9-8 record, some players on the team were “disappointed” with Spoelstra, suggesting if he should keep his job as head coach.
That said, he stayed in the same position and eventually managed to get the team better results.
On December 16, 2017, Spoelstra surpassed Riley for most wins in Heat history when the team defeated the Los Angeles Clippers 90–85. In the 2016–17 season’s finale, Spoelstra was named the NBCA Co-Coach of the Year after leading Miami to a 30 win record in the final 41 games of the year.
During the 2019–20 season, Spoelstra coached again led Miami back to the 2020 NBA Finals before losing 4–2 to Los Angeles Lakers.
To sum up, Erik Spoelstra is a great professional and we can see why he’s got one of the best NBA coach salaries.
After coaching the Heat for the previous 15 seasons, Spoelstra signed an eight-year contract extension worth more than $120 million in January 2024. With this extension, Spoelstra remains one of the longest-tenured active coaches in the NBA and one of the highest-paid coaches in the league.
Tyronn Lue – LA Clippers (reported nearly $14 million)
The Los Angeles Clippers is a team with several great players, but they need their great coach Tyronn Lue. Tyronn Lue is a firestorm in the basketball world, as he is one of the most innovative coaches in the NBA.
He has won titles with some of the greatest teams in the history of the game, and he has led his teams to some surprising, almost never-ending success.
Many people agree that Tyronn Lue is one of the greatest coaches in the history of the game, and his reputation is deservedly so. For this reason, he has one of the highest NBA coach salaries which is well deserved.
He joined the LA Clippers in 2013 and he was, before that, part of the development team of the Boston Celtics.
Moreover, it is important to highlight that, with Lue as a coach for the Cleveland Cavaliers, the team won the 2016 NBA finals.
Lue signed a long-term contract extension with the LA Clippers in 2024, with reports placing the deal at nearly $14 million per year. Of course, given his experience and the years passed at the LA Clippers and Cleveland Cavaliers, and the number of titles won, his NBA coach salary is remarkable.
Doc Rivers – Milwaukee Bucks (reported around $10 million)
Doc Rivers started his coaching career in 1999 for the Orlando Magic where he stayed until 2003. In 2000, he was voted Coach of the Year after just a year as a coach. In 2004, he took over the head coach role at the Boston Celtics where he stayed until 2013. This is with the Celtics that Rivers won his first NBA Championship in 2008 against the Los Angeles Lakers.
Following a successful career at the Boston Celtics, he moved to the Los Angeles Clippers in 2013 and he stayed head coach until 2020.
In 2020, Rivers was hired as a head coach by the Philadelphia 76ers and stayed there until 2023. In January 2024, he was hired by the Milwaukee Bucks on a deal reported at roughly $40 million through the 2026–27 season, keeping him among the NBA’s highest-paid coaches.
Mike Budenholzer, Phoenix Suns (reported over $10 million)
Last but not least, Mike Budenholzer is another incredible coach with years of experience in different teams.
Budenholzer, or coach Bud, was assistant coach for the San Antonio Spurs under Gregg Popovich and was then head coach of the Atlanta Hawks and the Milwaukee Bucks.
On top of that, Budenholzer was also voted the NBA Coach of the Year 2018-2019.
Budenholzer led Milwaukee to the 2021 NBA championship and later moved to the Phoenix Suns. In 2024, he agreed to a five-year deal reported at more than $50 million, moving him firmly into the higher end of NBA coaching salaries.
Why the Lowest-Paid NBA Coaches Are Harder to Verify
While some of the salaries aren’t publicly disclosed, we researched all the NBA coach salaries for you so you don’t have to.
Of course, there are several factors to their salary from experience to popularity, and this is why many newer head coaches make less than their colleagues above. However, a current lowest-paid NBA coach ranking is much harder to verify because teams usually do not officially disclose coaching salaries.
Older public estimates often placed newer head coaches in the low seven figures, but those numbers can change quickly after extensions, firings, and new jobs. Taylor Jenkins remains head coach of the Memphis Grizzlies, but the Grizzlies have not publicly disclosed the current value of his contract. James Borrego is no longer head coach of the Charlotte Hornets, and Mike Budenholzer is no longer a low-salary example after his reported Phoenix Suns deal.
If we check all of them, the lowest NBA coach salary that can be reliably confirmed is not as clear as the highest reported salaries. Of course, while this is calculated on much more than that, NBA head coaching still remains a strong income for playing 82 games a year.
What Is The Average NBA Coach Salary?
Because many NBA coaching contracts are not officially disclosed, there is no fully reliable public average for all 30 head coaches.
Using only the reported contracts above, the highest-paid NBA coaches are in the range of about $10 million to $17.5 million per year. That does not mean the league-wide average is that high, because many coaches have private contracts and newer coaches generally earn less than long-tenured championship coaches.
Given the fact that each season has 82 games, coaches on reported eight-figure contracts can earn well over $100,000 per regular-season game.
Of course, there is much more than this such, as preparation and strategy, however, it is still a considerable amount to live comfortably.
Our Final Thoughts
These were some of the NBA coach salaries that one should know. Of course, these are pretty high amounts but they are nonetheless justified for the years and amount of experience that all these professional coaches have.
Other than that, it is important to note that most NBA coaches have studied in reputable and popular universities. In fact, other than a background as an NBA player, they will also need to have the mathematical mindset and sometimes even a science one.
To conclude, you now know the salaries of worldwide famous NBA coaches and how they got there. Whether you are a professional willing to get to their level or simply getting some experience, you know what to expect as a premium coach.
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