Miami Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra started out as the team’s video coordinator in 1995; almost 30 years later, he has reportedly agreed to sign one of the biggest contracts in North American sports coaching history.
According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, citing unnamed sources, the Heat and Spoelstra, who has coached the team since 2008, agreed to an eight-year contract extension worth more than $120 million. Although a few coaches might be making more per year, Wojnarowski reports that this is most committed money in North American coaching history.
CNN has reached out to the Heat and Spoelstra’s agency to confirm the details of the reported extension and terms, but has yet to hear back.
NBA superstar LeBron James – who played for Spoelstra from 2010 to 2014 – commented on the reported deal, posting on X (formerly known as Twitter), “Worth Every Single Cent of that contract!!! Congrats Spo!!”
Spoelstra worked his way up through the ranks during his near three-decade-long tenure with the organization.
He held the roles of assistant coach/video coordinator, assistant coach/advance scout and assistant coach/director of scouting, before being promoted to head coach.
He took over the reins from Pat Riley, who stepped back from his dual role of head coach and Heat president to focus solely on the latter in 2008.
