Carolina Panthers give Ron Rivera contract extension, raise

Carolina Panthers head coach Ron Rivera is coming off a big season and is set to be paid like it.

The 2015 NFL season was a great one for the Carolina Panthers. They finished the year with the best record, going 15-1 and earning the top seed in the NFC Playoffs. The Cam Newton-led team would go to Super Bowl 50, losing to the Denver Broncos, 24-10.

This season was head coach Ron Rivera’s best with the team by far. If anything, he was somewhat on the hot seat for going just 7-8-1 in 2014, while being knocked out of the playoffs in back to back years.

Well, based on this great performance, the Panthers decided to reward him with a contract extension that adds $2 million to each year of his deal through 2018, according to the Charlotte Observer.

It’s a three-year contract for $19.5 million that could reach $22.5 million.

The Panthers will have high expectations for the 2016 season, and Ron Rivera’s contract shows just that. He is being paid like a top head coach that’s going to continuously get his team to the playoffs, and even make another Super Bowl appearance.

They mostly have the same roster from 2015, sans cornerback Josh Norman, who left for the Washington Redskins. Even with that, the Panthers will be looked at by many to win the NFC South and make a deep run in the playoffs.

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