It didn’t take the Milwaukee Bucks very long to find Adrian Griffin’s successor. It’s as if Doc Rivers was already waiting in the wings the moment the front office decided to part ways with Coach Griff.
While the Bucks have yet to officially announce Rivers as their new head coach, it’s also quite interesting to note that the former NBA champion coach came to an agreement with the team quite quickly. As it turns out, the fact that A LOT of money was involved likely helped expedite the process.
Doc Rivers’ Contract With Milwaukee Bucks
NBA guru Shams Charania of The Athletic reported the details of Rivers’ new Bucks contract on Thursday. No wonder Doc put pen to paper so quickly, especially considering how he is still under contract with ESPN as a broadcaster:
“Sources: Doc Rivers is signing a contract through the 2026-27 season worth in the range of $40 million to be the Bucks’ head coach. Milwaukee is paying out former coaches Mike Budenholzer and Adrian Griffin, and now Rivers for next 3.5 years,” Shams wrote.
That’s a whole lot of money. Counting 2023-24 as half a season, Rivers will be pocketing roughly $11.4 million per season now that he’s the new head honcho in Milwaukee.
For context, the Miami Heat signed Erik Spoelstra to a new deal recently. This came out to $120 million for eight years or around $15 million per season. This marks the largest amount of money ever committed to an NBA head coach.
Shams also pointed out an interesting bit about the Bucks now having three coaches on their payroll in the coming years. Milwaukee will still be compensating both Mike Budenholzer and Adrian Griffin as part of their decision to terminate the respective contracts prior to the expiration date.
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