The Chicago Bears’ new head coach makes more than CJ Stroud.
Much more than Puka Nacua.
Almost as much as Saquon Barkley.
The “first number on the NFL grapevine” for Ben Johnson, who signed Monday to become the 19th head coach in franchise history, is $13 million per year, according to Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk .
That figure would make Johnson the seventh-highest paid NFL coach this season — $1 million ahead of John Harbaugh of the Baltimore Ravens and $1 million behind Kyle Shanahan of the 49ers.
Andy Reid of the Chiefs, who is two wins away from the league’s top three, leads all coaches with his $20 million salary.
Of course, Harbaugh has one Super Bowl under his belt, not to mention four AFC championship appearances. The Lombardi Trophy has eluded Shanahan thus far, even though the Niners head coach has taken his team to the Big Game twice and the conference finals four times.
Johnson, meanwhile, has just two playoff victories during his tenure as the Lions’ offensive coordinator from 2022-2024 and has a total of zero years of head coaching experience.
That makes $13 million seem like an exorbitant sum — until you consider how thirstily the league’s other coachless franchises chased after Johnson’s services.
The new head coach had been touted as the top dog in this year’s training cycle. Before signing his monstrous contract with the Bears, Johnson interviewed with the Patriots, Jaguars and Raiders, the latter once considered frontrunners.
P.A.
Johnson is believed to be something akin to the prodigal son, a unique and unfettered offensive mastermind responsible for the re-emergence of Jared Goff and the once-hapless Lions offense.
And the numbers back up these platitudes.
Highest paid NFL coaches in 2024
| Coach | Team | Salary |
|---|---|---|
| Andy Reid | Chefs | 20 million dollars |
| Sean Payton | Broncos | $18 million |
| Mike Tomlin | Steelers | $16 million |
| Jim Harbaugh | Chargers | $16 million |
| Sean McVay | Rams | $15 million |
| Kyle Shanahan | 49ers | $14 million |
| John Harbaugh | Crows | 12 million dollars |
As Detroit’s offensive coordinator from 2022-24, the Lions ranked fifth, fifth and then first in points per game. The year before he took over on offense, Detroit came in at 24th overall.
The 2021 campaign was also Goff’s first in Detroit, with the longtime Ram recently being shipped out of Los Angeles with a chip on his shoulder and something to prove.
Little was proven that first year as the 27-year-old went 3-10-1 in 14 starts while throwing eight interceptions for 19 touchdowns.
Years two through four, however, were entirely different stories. Goff has improved in almost every metric, every season, and the Lions’ record has increased along with it: nine wins, 12 wins, 15 wins.
As of 2022, no NFL quarterback has more yards or touchdowns than Goff. These rankings are all the more impressive given that, over the entire period, the signal-caller’s interception percentage, 1.8%, is the fifth lowest among qualified passers (despite the loss to the commanders during the division round might lead you to believe).
So while $13 million for an unproven head coach is certainly a huge lump sum, if Johnson can do for Caleb Williams what he did for Goff, he’ll be worth every penny.
