10 highest-paid NBA coaches after Erik Spoelstra's extension

2. Erik Spoelstra: $15 million

Erik Spoelstra has been with the Heat for 29 seasons. He's the league’s second-longest-tenured coach behind San Antonio’s Gregg Popovich. And, in terms of salary, let's just say Spoelstra has come a long way since his video coordinator days.

In light of Spoelstra's contract expiring after this season, the Miami Heat offered Spo' an eight-year extension worth around $120 million. Yep, you read that right. Eight years. $120 million. This is the largest contract in NBA history in terms of total value for a coach. Only three coaches have won more games with one franchise than Spoelstra has with the Heat. Speolstra's ability to develop undervalued, often undrafted talent cement his legacy as a Hall of Fame head coach.

1. Gregg Popovich: $16 million

As with any job, you have to put in the time to get rewarded. As the San Antonio Spurs coach, Popovich has been with the team since 1996. Since then, Pop has won five NBA championships, developed generational talents, and most recently, commanded his home crowd to stop booing former Spur Kawhi Leonard.

With three Coach of the Year awards, 22 consecutive playoff trips from 1998 to 2019, and the active record holder for most career wins by a coach in NBA history (1,371), Gregg Popovich is the highest-paid NBA coach for obvious reasons. This July, Popovich signed a five-year, $80 million extension. This bumped Popovich's salary from $11.5 million to a reported $16 million. Aside from being the head coach, Popovich is also president of basketball operations for the San Antonio Spurs. Popovich has been a successful NBA coach for several decades, so he's deserving of such a salary.

It'll be interesting to see how the market responds to the rapid rise in coach salaries in just the last year. As a wise man once said, "those that can't do, teach, and those that can't teach, teach gym." However, who would've thought that guy had the right idea?