The National Basketball Association (NBA) Golden State Warriors team has extended the contract with head coach Steve Kerr, ESPN reports . The agreement runs until the end of the 2025/26 season; the 58-year-old coach will receive $35 million over the next two years of work at the club. Kerr’s previous contract with Golden State expired in the summer of 2024.
Kerr’s annual salary will be $17.5 million, making him the highest paid coach in NBA history. Only San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich earns more than him in the league, but he combines the post of coach with the role of president of the club. His five-year contract, signed in the summer of 2023, implies an income of $19 million per year.
The head of the Miami Heat, Erik Spoelstra, extended his contract in January 2024 with a salary of $15 million per season. The agreement is valid for eight years and is a record in the history of American sports for a total amount of $120 million. The leader in average annual salary in professional leagues in North America is the coach of the National Football League (NFL) New England Patriots team, Bill Belichick. His income is now $25 million a year.
NBA club signs record coaching contract
NBA club As ESPN notes, Golden State general manager Mike Dunleavy Jr. has been negotiating a contract with Kerr’s representatives for several months. Retaining a coach on the team was one of club owner Joe Lacob’s priorities. Now Kerr will not leave the Warriors until the end of the contract of Stephen Curry, the team’s main star (his agreement also runs until the end of the 2025/26 season).
Golden State forward Draymond Green noted that he would not like to continue playing for the team with any other coach. “It’s amazing. Kerr has meant so much to this team and led it to so many victories that it is impossible to replace him. He got what he deserves,” said the basketball player.
During his playing career, Kerr became an NBA champion five times. He won the title three times with the Chicago Bulls (1996 to 1998) and twice with the San Antonio Spurs (1999 and 2003). Kerr played as a shooting guard and retired in 2003. After retiring from the sport, he was involved in managerial activities; in 2007, he received the post of general manager of the Phoenix Suns and left this position three years later.
In the spring of 2014, Kerr became the head coach of Golden State, signing a five-year contract worth a total of $25 million. In the first season under his leadership, the team became the NBA champion, then repeating this achievement three more times – in 2017, 2018 and 2022 In the 2016-17 season, the Warriors set a league record with 73 wins, and Kerr received the Coach of the Year Award.
As of 2021, Kerr also leads the US national basketball team. He replaced Gregg Popovich in this position. At the 2023 World Championships, the American team took fourth place. In the semi-finals, the team lost to the future champions, the German national team, and lost to Canada in the bronze medal match. Kerr will be the head coach of Team USA at the 2024 Olympics in Paris. This tournament will be his last at the head of the national team.
The Golden State Warriors won 29 wins in 55 games during the 2023-24 NBA regular season. The team ranks 10th in the Western Conference. In their last nine matches, the Warriors suffered only one defeat. The team will play its next game on February 26 at home against the Denver Nuggets.
