Sportico says Sean Payton is the highest-paid coach in American sports

Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots agreed to part ways last week, ending his reign as the highest-paid coach in American sports.

Belichick was earning something in the range of $25 million per season, according to Sportico.com. Denver Broncos coach Sean Payton is now the highest-paid coach in U.S. sports leagues.

Of course, this could change if Belichick lands with a new team and gets another monster contract.

Payton earns “roughly” $18 million per year, according to Kurt Badenhausen of Sportico.com. It’s unclear where they got that number because an exact figure for Payton’s salary has not been reported. Last year, Peter King of NBC Sports reported that Payton’s salary would be “in the neighborhood” of $18 million annually. That’s presumably where Sportico got their number, and it might not be exact.

It’s also worth noting that Sportico’s list includes the highest-paid coaches in U.S. sports because soccer coaches in Europe earn more. Diego Simeone ($27 million), Pep Guardiola ($25 million) and Jurgen Klopp ($17.2 million) are believed to be the highest-paid coaches in world sports.

With those caveats noted, here are the ten highest-paid coaches in American sports, according to Sportico.

1

Sean Payton: $18 million (roughly)

(Lon Horwedel-USA TODAY Sports)

2

Greg Popovich: $16 million (NBA)

(Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)

3

Erik Spoelstra: $15 million (NBA)

(Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)

4

Sean McVay: $15 million

(Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports)

5

Kyle Shanahan: $14 million

(Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports)

6

Monty Williams: $13.1 million (NBA)

(Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)

7

Mike Tomlin: $12.5 million

(Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)

8

John Harbaugh: $12 million

(Photo by Frederick Breedon/Getty Images)

9

Andy Reid: $11.5 million

(Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports)

10

Dabo Swinney: $11.5 million (NCAA)

(Ken Ruinard-USA TODAY Sports)