Contrary to reports pegging the value of Packers coach Mike McCarthy’s new contract at nearly $6.5 million annually, Pete Dougherty of the Green Bay Press-Gazette reports that McCarthy’s deal has an actual value of more than $5.5 million per year.
The figure puts him in the top 25 percent of all coaches. (Not bad for a guy who made an all-in gamble three years ago by nudging Brett Favre into retirement, barricading the door after he left, and seeing him resurface with the Jets then the Vikings.)
The higher number would be accurate only if McCarthy reaches every incentive in his deal.
The top end of the market for NFL head coaches has considerably softened of late. In his final years with the Seahawks, Mike Holmgren was earning as much as $8.5 million annually. Right now, the highest paid head coach is Bill Belichick of the Patriots, who earns $7.5 million annually.
