Details from Jim Harbaugh‘s new deal to coach the Los Angeles Chargers have dropped and the figures are stunning. The duration of the new head coach’s contract was already public – it’s a five-year deal that will pay him significantly more than he made leading the Michigan Wolverines – but his salary was not immediately reported after his hiring.
Harbaugh was reportedly offered $11.5 million a year from his former program to stay after winning a national championship this season. It would have made him the highest-paid coach in college football. The Chargers out-bid the Wolverines by a lot. According to Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk, Harbaugh’s contract is worth $16 million annually over five years.
For comparison, Harbaugh’s brother John makes $12 million per year as the head coach of the Baltimore Ravens. Former New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick made $25 million per year in his final season in Foxborough, which made him the highest-paid coach in the NFL.
Since the Chargers hired Harbaugh with time remaining on his contract, the franchise owes Michigan a buyout. The sum is a drop in the bucket for the league’s 25th-most valuable team, valued at $4.15 billion. Harbaugh’s buyout is just $1.5 million, according to USA Today. To hire Kalen DeBoer away from Washington, the Alabama Crimson Tide has to pay off a $12 million buyout, which makes the new Chargers head coach’s buyout total look minuscule.
Chance to win Super Bowl, salary increase key in Harbaugh signing
ESPN’s Adam Schefter joined The Pat McAfee Show on Thursday and shared what led to Harbaugh leaving college football for the NFL. According to Schefter, two key factors led to the former 49ers coach returning to California for the Chargers job.
“No. 1, the NFL was going to be able to offer more money. No. 2, the NFL could offer the chance to compete and try to win a Super Bowl, which Michigan couldn’t,” Schefter said. “So those two factors alone made it so Jim, I believe, was destined to leave Michigan at this time.”
In addition to the Chargers, other NFL franchises were also interested in Harbaugh. That includes the Atlanta Falcons, who were set to interview Harbaugh for a second time on Thursday. The threat of losing the Wolverines head coach to Atlanta led to an 11th-hour deal.
“I think that essentially, the Chargers were the team that was most interested in him all along. They had done a ton of work on Jim Harbaugh, were determined to get a deal done with Jim Harbaugh,” Schefter added.
“Ultimately, in the end, the Chargers stepped up, and before he could get out of the building, they reached agreement on a five-year deal that keeps Jim in Los Angeles, prevents him from interviewing with the Falcons. In the end, I think the Chargers were the team that really wanted him most, and it showed with the aggressiveness with which they pursued him.”
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