They settled in Monessen near Pittsburgh. “My grandfather Ivan and grandmother Marija, who changed her name to Mary on arrival to the US, left Draganić for America. In the HRT documentary series "Opstanak" in January 2020, Belichick recalled Croatian being spoken in his grandparents' house and between his father and mother, who quickly picked it up. His grandfather, Ivan Biličić, and grandmother, Marija Barković, emigrated to Pennsylvania in 1897 from Draganić. Of the NBA coaches, only Steve Kerr ($9.5 million) of Golden State Warriors is in the top 10.Ĭonsidered one of the greatest coaches in NFL history, Belichick has never been shy about speaking of his Croatian heritage.
The top five is closed by the highest-paid coach in the NBA league, Gregg Popovich ($11.5 million) of the San Antonio Spurs, who also serves as the coach of the USA basketball team. Second place is shared by New Orleans Saints coach Sean Payton, Seattle Seahawks coach Pete Carroll, and Kansas City Chiefs coach Andy Ried, all bringing in $12 million a year. Belichick has been in New England since 2000 and is rightly known as the best NFL coach of all time for winning six Super Bowl titles.Īmerican football coaches dominate this competition. Maybe Tom Brady will play that long, but most players won’t.NovemCroatian-American Bill Belichick is the highest-paid head sports coach in the United States!īill Belichick, the NFL strategist for the New England Patriots, has the highest salary among all head coaches in American sports, reveals Sportico.īelichick, a 69-year-old of Croatian descent, has an annual salary of $18 million, and he also performs the duty of general manager at the Boston club. Belichick is coaching at a high level at the age of 69. While the NFL’s best coaches will probably never make as much money as the NFL’s best players on an annual basis, a closure of the pay gap may mean the guys on the sidelines will win out over the guys on the field in the long term due to longevity. Other than Belichick (who may already be making close to $25 million per some estimates) Carroll and Payton, some other well-paid NFL coaches who would likely be joining the $25M-club are Andy Reid ($12 million), Mike Tomlin ($11.5 million) and Kyle Shanahan ($9.5 million). Thus, as the pay for the best college coaches publicly skyrockets, the pay for the best NFL coaches will continue to quietly climb - even if it’s still not climbing the way it should.” A great coach means a lot more to an NFL franchise than a good player, and plenty of good players have been making much better money than great coaches. “It will be very good for the best NFL coaches to get $25 million per year. “Even though it’s believed no coach currently makes $25 million annually in the NFL, the market is expected to arrive at that threshold soon,” per PFT. Since there is no salary cap to govern what coaches are paid the same way there is to control what players receive in compensation, a sharp increase in salary would not have to be bargained for by a union or approved by anyone except for an individual team’s owner. With three NFL head coaches are already believed to be making about $15 million or more in salary and incentives combined - Bill Belichick ($18 million), Pete Carroll ($14 million) and Sean Payton ($14 million) - the league’s best coaches are going to be making $25 million per year within the next two years, per a PFT source. Per sports business insider Joe Pompliano, Kelly’s $9.5 million annual salary is more than than 26 out of the 32 head coaches in the NFL make, but that is set to change very soon, according to ProFootballTalk. If the Mel Tucker, Lincoln Riley, and Brian Kelly deals have taught us anything, it's that Nick Saban is drastically underpaid at ~$10 million annually.