Lost in the news of the Kansas City Chiefs stadium reveal on Wednesday, rumors indicated on Monday that Head Coach Andy Reid and General Manager Brett Veach are about to receive significant pay bumps. I’m not sure the three-time Super Bowl-winning coach will beat out fellow AFC West Rival Sean Payton in annual salary, but there is no doubt who is the best coach in the NFL.
With reports that Kansas City Chiefs Head Coach Andy Reid could retire before Super Bowl LVIII, it appeared to be false, and a narrative pushed by agent Bob Lamont to let it be known his client was underpaid as a head coach.
Usually, I don’t agree with agents, but Reid signed a contract extension before the Super Bowl run and received a healthy raise at $10.5 Million per season. That rate currently ranks third in the AFC West.
Denver Broncos Head Coach Sean Payton earns $18 Million per season, and new Los Angeles Chargers Head Coach Jim Harbaugh received $15 Million per year to try and unseat Reid as the top coach in the AFC West.
Recent reports suggest Reid will be the highest-paid coach in the NFL, but I’m not sure that will happen. Per sources, the Chiefs and Reid are narrowing in on a new four-year deal at $16 Million per season. This contract, probably Reid’s last, will allow him to coach until he reaches 70.
Multiple people have told me that’s the magic number for Reid to step down and let someone else run the Patrick Mahomes show. In recent weeks, Defensive Coordinator Steve Spagnuolo, Special Teams Coach Dave Taub, Defensive Line Coach Joe Cullen, and Cornerbacks Coach Dave Merritt agreed to new contract extensions that coincide with Reid’s four-year coaching window.
Of note, the four coaches received pay bumps, making them some of the highest paid at their respective positions. That’s a lot of coin for Chairman and CEO Clark Hunt to shell out, but he knows the future of the Chiefs dynasty relies on keeping the coaching staff together.
Strangely, other NFL teams have yet to purge the Chiefs coaching staff. That could be their desire to stay in Kansas City, or their current salaries are high enough that teams are less inclined to interview them. Cullen entertained offers from the University of Michigan and the Seattle Seahawks to become their defensive coordinator. He turned both offers down, choosing to remain the defensive line coach in Kansas City.
Whatever the reason, the Chiefs are building a dynasty inside and out. With Patrick Mahomes already the highest-paid quarterback in the NFL, Kansas City has proven they can have their cake and eat it, too.
With the coaches under contract and $28 Million in cap space, before they make any internal moves to create more dollars to sign current and free-agent players, the Chiefs are in the catbird seat.
Kansas City fans are in heaven, and the league is poised to do whatever it takes to prevent the Chiefs from three straight Super Bowl titles. I’m not betting against them, and with Hunt spending so much to retain the coaching staff, I can’t see the spending ending in attempting to retain their own players and sign two or three prime-time free agents.
General Manager Brett Veach is also getting a pay bump and extension. As the architect of back-to-back Super Bowl titles, he has free reign to be aggressive and push the salary cap to its ceiling.
After all, the chase for history is ripe for the taking. No team will ever win back-to-back-to-back Super Bowls other than the Kansas City Chiefs.
They have the best NFL coach (Andy Reid), Quarterback (Patrick Mahomes), Tight End (Travis Kelce), and a future hall-of-fame defender in Chris Jones, and a gambler General Manager who is poised to capitalize on this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to become the greatest team in NFL history.
