When Mike Tomlin joked, “That’s why I’m well-compensated” after his decision to start Russell Wilson paid off with a big win in Week 7, he wasn’t exaggerating about the “well-compensated” part. It turns out that he is tied for the fifth highest-paid coach in all of U.S. sports, per Michael McCann of Sportico on X.
Tomlin is tied with Chargers head coach Jim Harbaugh at $16 million for their average annual salaries. The top 10 is dominated by NFL head coaches, with six making the list in total. Tomlin and Harbaugh are tied for third among NFL coaches, only behind Sean Payton ($18 million) and Andy Reid ($20 million).
According to Sportico, Tomlin was previously making about $12.5 million per season, so he received a healthy 28-percent raise in his latest contract extension. The Steelers and Tomlin agreed to a three-year extension over the offseason that will keep him with the team through the 2027 season. Tomlin is the longest-tenured coach in the league with one team.
With one more win, Tomlin will have clinched his 18th consecutive non-losing season. It’s pretty remarkable to already be talking about that streak extending before December begins. Many analysts predicted this would finally be the year that Tomlin’s streak ended, but the Steelers are now one of the best teams in the NFL and in contention for the AFC’s No. 1 seed in the playoffs.
That streak will hold very little weight if Tomlin can’t overcome his drought of playoff wins. He hasn’t gotten in the win column during the playoffs since the 2016 season and is currently on a loss streak of five games.
Funny enough, Tomlin will have played every NFL coach who is either tied with or above him in average annual salary this season. He already defeated Payton and the Denver Broncos as well as Harbaugh and the Los Angeles Chargers. He will have a chance to also beat the highest-paid coach in all of U.S. sports when Reid and the Kansas City Chiefs come to town on Christmas Day.
