The Kansas City Chiefs: A New Era Of Success Under Andy Reid

Author Dalboyy 16 Nov 2024

The Kansas City Chiefs were the biggest story in the NFL last season. Sure, many people became fans of the team after Taylor Swift started dating Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, with millions of Swifties learning about jet sweeps and Cover 2 defenses. By their standards, the Chiefs had a "down" regular season, finishing at 11-6, but it didn't matter. Kansas City still won the Super Bowl for the second straight season.

The man leading that charge from the sidelines just got a huge payday.

Andy Reid and the Chiefs agreed to a contract extension that will keep the head coach in Kansas City for another five years. The new deal will run through the 2028 season and is expected to be worth $100 million.

On an average annual basis, Reid's $20 million salary is higher than that of any other coach in the NFL, NBA, MLB, and NHL. Sean Payton, hired by the Denver Broncos last year, held the previous record after signing a five-year, $90 million deal that paid him $18 million.

Only one other NFL coach has scored a nine-figure deal — Jon Gruden also signed for $100 million (over 10 seasons) with the then-Oakland Raiders. He resigned in 2021 after some of his emails containing disparaging remarks were leaked. He didn't receive the money on the remaining years of that deal, though he reached a settlement with the team and is currently suing the NFL to try and recoup the rest of the contract.

Reid has also won the most among the wealthiest NFL coaches. Payton won a Super Bowl with the New Orleans Saints during the 2009 season, Jim Harbaugh ($16 million per year) just re-joined the NFL after winning the NCAA championship with Michigan, and Sean McVay ($15 million) led the Los Angeles Rams to the 2022 Super Bowl. Those three titles equal the number of championships Reid has won in Kansas City.

The fifth-highest paid coach in the NFL, by the way? Kyle Shanahan, who makes $14 million per year with the San Francisco 49ers. He's lost twice to Reid and the Chiefs in the Super Bowl, with the Niners giving up double-digit leads in both games.

Reid is the only coach to win at least 100 games with two franchises (Philadelphia and Kansas City). His career total is 284. He's hoping he can add some more to that total en route to a third straight Super Bowl, which would set another record.