Miami Heat, Head Coach, Erik Spoelstra signs one of the largest coaching contracts in NBA history
Photo by: CNN Thomas Schlachter
Erik Spoelstra is considered to be one of the best coaches in the NBA and now has a record-breaking contract to back his achievements. According to Adrian Wojnarowski, the Miami Heat signed Spoelstra to a 8-year, $120 million contract. That is the most money ever committed in a coaching deal.
Gregg Popovich, who signed a $80 million extension with the San Antonio Spurs this past summer, makes the most per year with an average annual salary of $16 million. This would make Erik Spoelstra the second-highest-paid coach at $15 million annually.
Photo by: Bruce Bennett, Rocky Widner/Getty Images
Spoelstra has been the Miami Heat head coach for 16 seasons and has only recorded 2 losing seasons for the Heat. He has made the playoffs on 12 occasions and made the NBA finals 6 different times. Spoelstra’s most impressive achievement was guiding the Heat to back-to-back championships in 2011 and 2012 while coaching hall-of-famers Lebron James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh.
Now, Spoelstra does an amazing job of keeping the Miami Heat relevant and contenders in the NBA. He developed players like Duncan Robinson, Gabe Vincent, Max Strus, etc. All these players had a huge impact on the Miami Heat at one point. Eventually, they received huge contracts from teams and brought that “Heat Culture” to their respective teams.
The contract is worth every penny, and Erik Spoelstra will be the key reason why the Maimi Heat will win a championship in the future.