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The Denver Broncos made sure to take care of Sean Payton for agreeing to become the 20th head coach of the franchise.
The full details of Payton’s contract are unknown, but the deal will be for at least five years at a salary estimated between $17 million to $20 million a year, according to Mike Klis of 9News.
Payton’s head coaching contract is believed to rank among the highest in the NFL. According to Sportico, the New England Patriots’ Bill Belichick makes an estimated $20 million, with the Seattle Seahawks’ Pete Carroll making an estimated $15 million and the Los Angeles Rams’ Sean McVay making an estimated $14 million. Each of them has won at least one Lombardi Trophy.
When an NFL team signs a coach to their contract, the salary does not count toward their the team’s salary cap, meaning ownership can pay whatever number it sees fit for a coach. According to Klis’ reporting, the Broncos have made Payton, who won a Super Bowl in 2010 with the New Orleans Saints, one of the highest-paid coaches in the NFL.
The New Orleans’ Saints Original Asking Price Too High
Because Payton was still under contract with the Saints, the only way another NFL team could hire him as their coach would be to trade for his services. This is not uncommon, as teams have traded for other coaches in the past.
In 2000, the Patriots traded a first-, fourth- and fifth-round pick to the New York Jets to acquire Bill Belichick, who has won six Super Bowls in New England. And in 2002, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers traded two first-round and second-round picks for John Gruden, who led the franchise to its first Lombardi Trophy in his first season.
According to Klis, the Saints’ original asking price was similar to what the then-Oakland Raiders received for Gruden.
The Broncos had already given up five draft picks — including two first-rounders and two second-rounders — last year to acquire quarterback Russell Wilson. To get Payton, they had to give up even more.
“It took a while, but the Broncos eventually negotiated the price down, although Sean Payton was still expensive,” Klis reported. “The Broncos surrendered their first-round draft pick, No. 29 overall, plus their second-round pick in 2024 to the Saints in exchange for Sean Payton and New Orleans’ third-round in 2024.”
Denver had acquired the first-round (29th overall) from the Miami Dolphins in the November 1 deal that sent running back Bradley Chubb to Miami.
Social Media Reaction to Sean Payton News
With news that DeMeco Ryans would become the next head coach of the Houston Texans and Payton would head to Denver, Twitter exploded with reaction from pundits and journalists.
“Sean Payton and Russell Wilson. Broncos’ Country, LET’S RIDE,” tweeted former NFL quarterback Robert Griffin III.
“Just got off the phone with Sean Payton. He’s stoked about the chance to coach the Broncos: ‘Great fanbase. Great tradition. The ownership group is fantastic, and I love the way they competed last year. It’s a great football city like we had in New Orleans,” tweeted the Times-Picayune’s Jeff Duncan.
“Sean Payton will make a difference. An effective coach is always more important than an unproven draft pick. … The @broncos got a lot better today,” tweeted 92.5’s Vic Lombardi.
“Sean Payton is a star, a culture changer, a future Hall of Famer. He’s worth every single penny. And draft pick,” tweeted SiriusXM’s Adam Schein.
“Sean Payton to the Broncos is a home run,” tweeted NBC’s Matthew Berry.
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