Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton is one of the NFL’s winningest coaches. While he’s had plenty of success, including winning Super Bowl XLIV as head coach of the New Orleans Saints, is he paid like one of the league’s top coaches? Let’s break down Payton’s net worth, contract, salary, and more.
Sean Payton’s Path to the NFL
Payton played college football for Eastern Illinois and had a brief stint in the NFL as a strikebreaking replacement player with the Chicago Bears in 1987. Payton played quarterback, and the bulk of his success came in the Arena Football League, Canadian Football League, and UK Budweiser National League.
After his playing days ended, Payton transitioned to coaching. After collegiate stints with San Diego State, Indiana State, Miami (OH), and Illinois, he got his first NFL coaching job in 1997 with the Philadelphia Eagles, who hired him as their quarterbacks coach. From 2000 to 2002, he would serve as the New York Giants’ offensive coordinator.
Finally, he got his first head-coaching gig in 2006 with the Saints. He would remain with New Orleans until 2021, helping the team win Super Bowl XLIV. Payton was named the AP Coach of the Year in 2006 and the Maxwell Club NFL Coach of the Year in 2006 and 2009.
Payton was suspended for the entire 2012 NFL season due to the Bountygate scandal. The NFL found that Payton and other Saints coaches were paying their players to injure opponents. Payton filed an appeal against the suspension. The appeal was denied, and Payton was not reinstated until 2013.
In January 2022, Payton announced his retirement from coaching and became a broadcaster with Fox NFL Sunday. However, after one year away from coaching, Payton decided to return to the sidelines.
Sean Payton’s Contract and Salary
After deciding to return to coaching and interviewing with numerous teams, the Broncos hired Payton as their next head coach on Jan. 31, 2023.
Denver needed to make a drastic change after their failed Nathaniel Hackett experiment, and shifting to a future Hall of Fame head coach in Payton certainly qualified as drastic. But keeping up with the Kansas City Chiefs requires an aggressive mindset.
The Broncos sent a 2023 first-round pick and a 2024 second-rounder to the New Orleans Saints in exchange for Payton’s rights and a 2024 third-round selection.
In February 2023, NBC Sports’ Peter King reported that Payton signed a five-year contract “in the neighborhood” of $18 million annually. Payton is the NFL’s third-highest-paid head coach. The only head coaches earning more than Payton are three-time Super Bowl winner Andy Reid and John Harbaugh, who make roughly $20 million annually with the Chiefs and the Gaints, respectively.
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Considering the draft capital and money they gave up, the Broncos clearly expected Payton to turn the team into a perennial contender.
While the Broncos didn’t make the playoffs in 2023, they fought back from a 1-5 start to finish 8-9, beating the Chiefs, Buffalo Bills, and others along the way. Now, Denver is in the playoff picture this season.
The Broncos invested a first-round pick in Oregon quarterback Bo Nix, named him the starter for the 2024 season, and honored him as the first rookie captain in 57 years. Payton and Nix have a strong working relationship, and the rookie quarterback has exceeded expectations since entering the league.
They finished the 2025 regular season with the best record in the AFC and will play the Buffalo Bills in the Divisional Round. The Broncos have their quarterback of the future and an offensive guru to help him realize his full potential, so they are in excellent shape.
What is Sean Payton’s Net Worth?
Payton’s net worth is estimated to be $45 million. In addition to his NFL contracts, Payton became the first NFL coach to sign a sneaker deal with Jordan Brand. Payton recently discussed this first-of-its-kind sponsorship and how it came about (thanks to an encounter with Michael Jordan himself).
For comparison, Reid’s net worth is approximately $50 million. Meanwhile, legendary NFL head coach Bill Belichick has an estimated net worth of $70 million. It’s noteworthy that Payton is 12 years younger than Belichick and six years younger than Reid.
How Sean Payton’s Story Became a Movie
During his Bountygate suspension in 2012, Payton spent the year coaching his 12-year-old son’s Pop Warner football team. A decade later, Netflix released a film inspired by that period, Home Team, starring Kevin James as Payton.
The movie follows an NFL head coach who, after being suspended for two years following a Super Bowl win, returns to his hometown and reconnects with his young son by coaching a Pop Warner team. While it’s unclear how much Payton earned from the project, he did make a brief cameo as a janitor named Lionel.
Denver Broncos’ Stats and Insights for Divisional Round
Playoff: Sean Payton is making his 11th postseason appearance as a head coach. He’s 9-9 and won the Super Bowl with the Saints in 2009. This is the third time Payton has earned the top seed, having achieved this in 2009 and 2018 with the New Orleans Saints and now with the Denver Broncos. In 2018, his Saints lost to the Los Angeles Rams in the NFC Championship game.
Team:Â Denver played in 13 one-score games, one shy of the NFL record. Denver went 11-2 in those games, including 5-0 at home. Every road game was a one-score game. The next Denver trip would be for the Super Bowl.
QB: Bo Nix had a QBi score of 69.9 (D+) in last season’s Wild Card game in Buffalo. Nix completed his first two passes, including a 43-yard touchdown to give the Broncos a 7-0 lead over the Bills. Nix would complete only 11 of 20 passes for 82 yards the rest of the way as the Broncos lost 31-7.
OFF: Denver recorded a PFSN’s Offense Impact Metric (OFFi) of 75.9 (C) for the second straight season. In Payton’s first year, the Broncos finished with a 67.0 (D+) OFFi.
DEF: The Broncos led the league in PFSN’s Defense Impact (DEFi) this season and posted the eighth-best DEFi since 2000. It’s the second straight year Denver led the league in DEFi.
