Michael Malone’s firing last April sent an unmistakable message to everyone NBA: coaching in the most important league in the world has never been so profitable, but not so precarious either. The coach of the Denver Nuggets, champion in 2023, was fired with three games left in the regular season despite being the winningest coach in franchise history.
A paradox that perfectly captures the current state of the profession: salaries never so highbut job security is at an all-time low. Only two current coaches were hired before September 2020, and half of the league’s 30 coaches have been on the bench for less than two years.
The ranking of the 10 highest paid coaches
- Steve Kerr (Golden State Warriors) – $17.5 million
- Erik Spoelstra (Miami Heat) – $15 million
- Tyronn Lue (Los Angeles Clippers) – $15 million
- Doc Rivers (Milwaukee Bucks) – Approximately $11 million
- Making Udoka (Houston Rockets) – approximately $11 million
- Joe Mazzulla (Boston Celtics) – approximately $11 million
- Rick Carlisle (Indiana Pacers) – approximately 11 million dollars
- Mike Brown (New York Knicks) – $10 million
- Jason Kidd (Dallas Mavericks) – $9.5 million
- JJ Redick (Los Angeles Lakers) – $9 million
The market numbers speak for themselves. Steve Kerr sits on the throne of the highest paid coaches with 17.5 million of dollars per year, followed by Erik Spoelstra (Miami Heat) e Tyronn Lue (Los Angeles Clippers), both at odds 15 million. All three signed extensions in 2024 that they have nearly doubled their previous compensation: two years for Kerr, eight for Spoelstra, five for Lue.
Yet not even securities guarantee safety anymore. Since 2016, the Cleveland Cavaliers (with Lue himself), Los Angeles Lakers (Frank Vogel) and Milwaukee Bucks (Mike Budenholzer) have all fired their coaches just two years after winning the ring. And this year it also happened to Tom Thibodeau, fired by the New York Knicks a few days after being eliminated from the playoffs, despite having reached the first Conference final since 2000.
The market exploded after the Williams deal
The turning point came in 2023, when Detroit signed Monty Williams with a pharaonic six-year contract and 78.5 million dollars. Before that, only Gregg Popovich surpassed the threshold of 10 million nod. Today I am new ones the coaches above that figure, compared to eight last season, despite the retirement of Popovich and the dismissals of Malone, Thibodeau and Budenholzer, all with contracts worth at least 10 million.
In the intermediate range we find Doc Rivers (Milwaukee), Ime Udoka (Houston), Joe Mazzulla (Boston) and Rick Carlisle (Indiana), all around 11 million. Mike Brown, who joined the Knicks on a four-year contract worth 10 million a year, represents an emblematic case: Sacramento had sacked him twelve months earlier, despite two consecutive awards as coach of the year and the first two winning seasons of the franchise in twenty years.
The Knicks had tried an unusual route to replace Thibodeau, asking at least five teams for permission to speak with their contracted coaches. All refused, and three of those coaches – Billy Donovan (Chicago), Jason Kidd (Dallas) and Udoka himself – later signed extensions with substantial raises.
integrated deal
Amazon, the decisive European market for obtaining US rights to the NBA
The US giant will pay 1.8 billion dollars a year for a package that includes the regular season, playoffs and NBA Cup: diffusion in the Old Continent proved to be a critical factor in the assignment.
The scissors paradox with players
The role itself has changed from a strategist focused on schemes and tactics to the CEO of basketball organizations worth an average of $5.5 billion, fifteen times what it was worth fifteen years ago. But the owners’ patience remains very short: half of the 30 NBA coaches have been in office for less than two years.
The lowest range of salaries is around 4 million dollars per year, but the comparison with the players remains merciless. Second Spotter58 basketball players earn at least 30 million this year and 170 exceed 10 million. The average NBA salary for 2025-26 is estimated at 13.87 million: only three coaches out of thirty pass it.
The top 10 bench players will make a combined $120 million this season, compared to $158 million for their highest-paid peers in the NFL. A boiling market, therefore, where contracts – almost always fully guaranteed and with playoff bonuses – continue to grow. But where a ring on your finger, as Michael Malone learned, is no longer enough to sleep soundly.
Worth a look
