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Posted by Michael David Smith on December 29, 2012, 5:42 PM EST

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When Sean Payton returns to coach the Saints after his yearlong suspension, he’ll do so with a salary that may make him America’s highest-paid coach, in any sport.

Payton’s five-year contract with the Saints is expected to pay him more than $8 million a year, ESPN’s Ed Werder reports. That is believed to be the most any coach makes in any American sport.

In May Forbes estimated that Patriots coach Bill Belichick was the highest-paid coach in America, at $7.5 million a year. Seahawks coach Pete Carroll, Rams coach Jeff Fisher and Redskins coach Mike Shanahan are each believed to make a little less than that, about $7 million. Boston Celtics coach Doc Rivers is believed to be the highest-paid coach in sports outside the NFL, at about $7 million a year.

Unlike players’ contracts, coaches’ contracts are usually kept private, so it’s possible that some of the reported numbers are incorrect. But at $8 million, Payton would probably be making more money than any coach in the NFL. Or anywhere else.

$8 million salary makes Sean Payton America’s top-paid coach | ProFootballTalk