The Baltimore Ravens dominated the Pittsburgh Steelers Saturday night, sending their fierce rivals to a fifth straight loss this season and sixth straight in the playoffs. The 28-14 win sends the Ravens to their fourth appearance in at least the divisional round over the past six seasons under Coach John Harbaugh.
Ravens players each pocketed $54,500 for playing this weekend and will earn another $54,500 for their next game. The win also added to the resume of Harbaugh, who is due a pay raise with his contract expiring after the 2025 season.
Harbaugh’s last contract extension was a three-year pact signed in 2022 ahead of the Ravens boss entering the final season of his previous deal. The pact, worth an estimated $12 million a year, put Harbaugh near the top of NFL coach pay rankings, but that financial table has been upended with a handful of deals over the past three years.
The Denver Broncos lured Sean Payton back to the NFL sidelines with a five-year, $90 million agreement. Harbaugh’s brother, Jim, signed a five-year, $80 million deal to leave the University of Michigan for the Los Angeles Chargers job. Last year, the Steelers’ Mike Tomlin signed an extension worth an estimated $16 million a year, and the Kansas City Chiefs made Andy Reid the highest-paid coach in U.S. sports with an extension worth $20 million a year on average.
NFL owners rarely let successful coaches enter the final of their contracts without an extension—Mike McCarthy in Dallas this season was an exception. Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti will need to bump Harbaugh to keep up with escalating coach salaries. Harbaugh now ranks seventh overall in average annual pay, behind the coaches listed above and Sean McVay and Kyle Shanahan.
Harbaugh and Tomlin are the two longest-tenured NFL coaches with one team, having been hired in 2008 and 2007—Reid is next, taking over in 2013. The Ravens have had only two losing seasons in 17 years under Harbaugh, including 8-9 in 2021. Harbaugh has made the playoffs 12 times, with the Super Bowl win for the 2012 season his top finish. His regular-season career win total of 172 ranks 15th all-time, and his 13 playoff victories is seventh among coaches.