How much do NFL head coaches make – including LA Rams McVay?

Jon Gruden spotlights a dimly lit area of the NFL

Three years ago, Las Vegas Raiders’ head coach Jon Gruden made headlines with his publicly announced 10-year, $100-million contract, but most observers agree that he was probably not even the most highly compensated coach per year at the time. The most surprising part of Gruden’s contract was its term – 10-years. That was an unprecedented move, and it re-set the bar.

In the time it has taken you to read that sentence above, you can see just how much Gruden made by going here: Is Gruden Gone yet?

And just like some players’ contracts, some coaches can have various incentives and other perks built into their compensation packages – their season record, playoff appearances, season awards, etc. So while the salary amounts may vary, when everything is tallied up, the top dawgs typically all make about the same amounts.

Unfortunately, teams seem to be becoming getting more cagey about releasing the finer details of their coaching contracts. Some of the most recent contracts for head coaches are shrouded in secrecy – terms or amounts. You are left to discern whatever you can from reading the tea leaves or between the lines – kinda’ the way a Kremlinologist reads a press release out of Moscow. Sometimes, it’s what’s unstated or left out that tells the tale.

For example, some coaches’ contracts are just extensions of existing deals. If the details about the existing deal are undisclosed, you are hard-pressed to calculate the value of the new deal in the absence of its starting point. If data is limited on past contracts, as well as extensions, the contract might represent only the current term or extension, rather than the total compensation package. Kremlinology 101.