Coaches Use Salary Survey to Negotiate Contracts

September 22, 2008

 

When Indianapolis Colts defensive line coach John Teerlinck was informed by team owners that his salary would be among the top five in his position, he knew he wouldn’t let them get away with just talking the talk.

“Since I knew who the top-five were,” Teerlinck said, “I was able to negotiate fairly and get a big raise.”

One of the most critical results of the coaches forming the NFL Coaches Association in 1996 was the collection of data from the coaches’ salary survey. As a result of the distribution of this salary information, coaches’ salaries have risen more quickly percentage-wise than those of anyone else in the NFL, said NFLCA Staff Director Larry Kennan.

“Once the coaches formed an association, effectively speaking with one voice, everyone involved—including the owners and the media—began to look at coaches in a different light,” Kennan said. “Through this unitary act, the coaches put a value on themselves. The rest of the NFL began to treat us with a lot more respect and dignity.”

St. Louis Rams offensive coordinator Al Saunders agrees, and said he was able to get a huge raise that nearly doubled his salary as a result of having accurate salary information for his peers.

Colts offensive line coach Howard Mudd believes the salary data empowers coaches. “Having that information allows us to negotiate salaries that are more in line with our value to the NFL and to individual teams,” he said.

According to Kennan, many coaches have recently received raises after discovering they were not being paid market value. “The more coaches who complete the salary survey, the more influential it can be in helping to ensure that all NFL coaches are receiving a salary comparable to that of their counterparts throughout the league,” he said. “This has been one of the best changes for coaches, because it means more money now, which gives us more money in our pensions.”