Report: Broncos to Pay Sean Payton $17M-$20M Per Year

The contract has not yet been finalized.

The Denver Broncos are expected to make Sean Payton one of the NFL's highest-paid head coaches — but perhaps not the highest-paid.

Per 9NEWS' Mike Klis, Payton will earn "somewhere between" $17 million and $20 million annually on his new contract, said to be at least five years. The deal has not been finalized at the time of this writing, though it's considered a formality.

"At this point, it’s just a matter of working out the words and phrases and clauses of the final contract," Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio noted Wednesday.

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While coaching salaries aren't public record, New England's Bill Belichick is believed to lead the pack with $20 million in annual earnings, followed by Seattle's Pete Carroll ($15M) and the Rams' Sean McVay ($14M).

At worst, Payton will become the league's second-richest coach. At best, he'll likely tie Belichick for the top spot. In either scenario, the highest-compensated HC in Broncos franchise history.

"Even if/when a number is reported, we won’t know if that’s the total number, because high-end coaches are often paid off the books through related business concerns," reported Florio.

Denver acquired Payton in a blockbuster deal Tuesday, sending first- and second-round draft picks to the New Orleans Saints for the rights to the 59-year-old Super Bowl winner.

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