Inside Monty Williams’ massive, stunning coaching contract with the Pistons

The Detroit Pistons made Monty Williams an offer he couldn’t refuse. The 51-year-old has agreed to a massive deal to become the new head coach of the Pistons on reportedly the biggest coaching contract in NBA history. Detroit is giving Williams a six-year, $78.5 million contract that could reach eight years, $100 million with incentives, per multiple reports.

At more than $13 million per year, Williams immediately becomes the highest paid coach in the NBA, and one of the highest paid coaches in American sports history. His annual salary easily eclipses Gregg Popovich’s $11.5 million deal for the NBA’s biggest coaching contract. Only a handful of NFL coaches can say they make a bigger yearly salary than Williams.

Williams was fired by the Phoenix Suns after a second round exit in the 2023 NBA Playoffs. The Suns were facing major pressure to make a championship run from new owner Mat Ishbia after swinging a mid-season trade for Kevin Durant, but ultimately they couldn’t compete with the Nuggets. Williams was fired two years after Phoenix to the 2021 NBA Finals, where they ultimately lost to the Milwaukee Bucks in six games. The Pistons are hoping Williams can turn around their franchise the same way he helped turn around the Suns.

The numbers on Williams’ deal are so eye-popping that they deserve to be laid out in full.

Monty Williams is the highest paid head coach in the NBA

Williams’ new deal sets the new standard for NBA coaching contract. His $13.08 million annual salary easily surpasses Popovich ($11.5 million), Steve Kerr ($9.5 million), and Erik Spoelstra ($8.5 million) to become the league’s highest paid head coach.

Only four other head coaches were making $8 million or more this past season, and all of them were fired — Nick Nurse in Toronto, Mike Budenholzer in Milwaukee, Doc Rivers in Philadelphia, and Steve Nash in Brooklyn.

Only the top NFL coaches make more than Williams

New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick is the highest paid coach in American professional sports at $20 million per year. New Denver Broncos coach Sean Payton makes $18 million, Pete Carroll makes $15 million, and Sean McVay makes $14 million.

Williams would be the fifth-highest paid NFL head coach, just above Mike Tomlin.

Williams makes more than every MLB, NHL, college hoops, and college football coach

Monty Williams’ deal more than doubles the biggest coaching salary in baseball or hockey. His deal surpasses the highest paid college football coach Nick Saban ($11.7 million) and highest paid college basketball coach John Calipari ($8.5 million).

Monty Williams originally rebuffed the Pistons

The Pistons called Williams to gauge his interest in their opening after he was fired in Phoenix. He told the Pistons and Milwaukee Bucks that he did not want to coach next season, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic. Williams was owed $21 million over the next three years from the Suns if he didn’t coach.

The Pistons initially never made an offer to Williams after he told them he was ready to take the year off. Detroit owner Tom Gores went all-in when he decided to make one last run at Monty. From Charania:

This time around, Gores, Weaver and the rest of the Pistons’ front office decided to not take “no” for an answer and put numbers in front of Williams, as well as a plan to court and entice him to come help an up-and-coming squad get to the next level, as he had done with the Suns, rather than sit out a season. The next day after that collective meeting, Gores sent a private plane to Phoenix to pick up Williams, per league sources. The 51-year-old coach was in Gores’ California living room that night.

Kevin Ollie and Charles Lee were the front-runners in Detroit

The Pistons were reportedly choosing between Overtime Elite director Kevin Ollie and Milwaukee Bucks assistant Charles Lee to be their next head coach when they decided to offer Williams a huge bag, per Charania. Both Ollie and Lee would have been first time NBA head coaches.

Williams has connections to Pistons GM Troy Weaver from Thunder days

After Williams was fired as head coach of the New Orleans Pelicans in 2015, he became an assistant under Billy Donovan for the 2015-2016 Oklahoma City Thunder. Current Pistons lead executive Troy Weaver was in the Thunder front office at the time.

The Thunder won 55 games with Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook that year, but blew a 3-1 series lead in the Western Conference Finals to the Warriors.

The Pistons see similarities with the Suns under Williams early in his tenure

Monty Williams took over a 19-win Suns team when he was hired in 2018. He’ll take over a 17-win team in Detroit next year.

Williams won 34 games in his second season, which ended with the Suns going undefeated in the bubble but failing to the make the playoffs. The next year, the team added Chris Paul, became the No. 2 seed in the West, and went to the NBA Finals. The Suns won the most games in the NBA in the 2021-22 season but lost the Mavericks in the second round. This year, Williams’ Suns were dropped by the Nuggets in the second round.

Williams’ teams in Phoenix were led by two scoring guards in Chris Paul and Devin Booker. In Detroit, he’ll have Cade Cunningham and Jaden Ivey. Cunningham, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft, is a big, deliberate lead guard who missed almost all of last season with a leg injury. Ivey was a super athletic rookie after being the No. 5 overall pick in the 2022 NBA Draft, but needs to improve his defense and refine his offensive attack.

Add in Jalen Duren — the rookie center who was the youngest player in the NBA last season — for the comparison to Deandre Ayton. Duren plays with more force than Ayton ever has, and should have big potential as a lob catcher and shot blocker. The Pistons also own the No. 5 overall pick this year, where we have them selecting Villanova wing Cameron Whitmore.

Can Cunningham and Ivey become the new Booker and Paul under Williams’ watch? It’s a lofty goal, but the Pistons’ young backcourt has the talent to get there eventually. Williams sure is getting paid a pretty penny to help them reach that level.