I know Frank Vogel was refreshing his browser for a smoov 5 minutes, swearing he had a stroke after the Monty Williams salary news dropped the other day (and the obvious disparity between the numbers)…

There’s nothing worse than doing the math on how many Northface vests and New Balance 990s you missed out on cuz your agent dropped the ball 😂

I’m kidding, man. I’m kidding…

Kudos to both of these coaches for securing very nice bags.

I swear man, the NBA coaching carousel never stops spinning. This time, it's brought us two fascinating stories in the form of Monty Williams and Frank Vogel's new contracts. As a long-time NBA observer and a believer in the power of free markets (I told you, I almost named this newsletter Courts & Capitalism™ sike), I find these developments particularly intriguing.

Shall we dive into some details? Man, hell yeah.

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The Tale of Two Contracts

Monty Williams, the 51-year-old coach, has just agreed to a massive deal to become the new head coach of the Detroit Pistons. 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.

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.

On the other hand, Frank Vogel, after a year away from the game following his firing by the Los Angeles Lakers, got the nod to be Williams' successor in Phoenix. According to Shams Charania of The Athletic, the Suns and Frank Vogel are finalizing a five-year $31 million contract.

This new contract for Vogel puts him in the top-tier category for annual salary amongst his coaching peers in the league. He is in the top 10 highest-paid head coaches along with the likes of Williams, Gregg Popovich, Steve Kerr, Erik Spoelstra, and Rick Carlisle.

The Free Market at Play

The stark contrast between the contracts of Williams and Vogel (especially considering they were announced less than 24 hours apart) is a clear indication of the lack of regulation in coaching salaries. However, it's also important to remember that the free market is there for a reason. It allows for competition and rewards those who have proven their worth. In this case, both Williams and Vogel have demonstrated their abilities as successful NBA coaches, and their respective contracts reflect that.

As a firm believer in free markets, I see this as a positive development.

We’re gonna take a detour, but please, stay with me here…

Take, for instance, the introduction of LIV Golf to the PGA Tour this past year. The competition has led to everyone on the PGA Tour making A LOT more money. In 2023, the PGA Tour saw an unprecedented increase in prize money, reaching new heights that were previously unimaginable. This was largely due to the introduction of 13 "elevated" events, which guaranteed the game's biggest stars would gather more often to compete at events with purses worth $20 million or more. Almost all of these elevated events surpassed the majors, not in significance or course, but on the pay scale.

The Players Championship and the Tour Championship still flaunted the gaudiest paydays, but many of the traditional events had a brighter spotlight on them in 2023. The first event of the calendar year, the Sentry Tournament of Champions, had a purse of $15 million. The WM Phoenix Open, the Genesis Invitational, the Arnold Palmer Invitational, the RBC Heritage, the Wells Fargo Championship, the Memorial Tournament, the Travelers Championship, and the World Golf Championships-Dell Technologies Match Play all boasted a $20 million purse.

Let’s just be honest…

The introduction of LIV Golf to the PGA Tour brought about this significant increase in prize money.

The competition led to everyone on the PGA Tour making tons of money. In 2023, the 38 PGA Tour stops had total prize money approaching $460 million. By comparison, the 47 events on the entire 2021-22 schedule totaled $421.8 million.

This increase in prize money is a testament to the power of competition and the rewards it can bring.

So… The recent contracts of Monty Williams and Frank Vogel have (for the first time, really) brought the financial aspect of NBA coaching into the spotlight. As we continue to watch the NBA coaching carousel spin, it will be interesting to see how the league and its teams navigate these financial waters.

Will we see a coaching spending cap in the future?

Or will the free market continue to dictate the value of an NBA coach?

Only time will tell. But for now, let's enjoy the game and appreciate the strategic minds that make it so captivating.