Details of Matt Rhule’s monster contract with Panthers revealed

The Carolina Panthers have agreed to a deal to hire Matt Rhule as their next head coach, and it is easy to see why Rhule was persuaded to leave Baylor.

While Rhule’s decision likely had to do with a lot more than money, he is getting a monster contract from the Panthers. ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports that the deal is worth $60 million over seven years and could go as high as $70 million with incentives.

Panthers are giving former Baylor HC Matt Rhule a seven-year – seven year – deal worth $60 million that with incentives could be worth up to $70 million, per league sources.

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) January 7, 2020

That is a massive contract by any standard, but it is particularly eye-popping for a coach with no previous NFL head coaching experience. Bill Belichick is currently believed to be the highest-paid coach in the NFL with a salary of $12 million, with Pete Carroll close behind at $11 million. Rhule’s deal places him close to the $10 million Sean Payton makes with the New Orleans Saints and Jon Gruden earns with the Oakland Raiders.

Rhule said recently that he would only leave Baylor for the perfect job in a stable organization, and it sounds like he was open to accepting at least two NFL head coaching jobs. With the amount of money the Panthers are giving him, it’s hardly a surprise he is making the leap to the pros.

Baylor went 1-11 in Rhule’s first season as head coach but improved to 7-6 last year and 11-3 this season. He will need to lead that same type of rapid turnaround in Carolina to justify his salary.