Peter King predicts "oh my god" level payday for Bill Belichick should he ditch Bailey Zappe for Justin Herbert
Bill Belichick might be racking up the losses this season at a faster clip than he ever has with the Patriots, but the head coach could be lining up a big financial win in 2024. At least, that is what NFL analyst Peter King predicted on Friday's edition of Pro Football Talk:
[00:07:04] "I'm going to use 20 million as the [bar and everyone] says, 'Oh my God, 20 million.' Well, that's about what Sean Payton got in Denver: $18 million per year. So let's say that you sign Bill Belichick [for] three years, 60 million."
He continued, doubling down on the $20 million figure:
"I'm assuming that his contract in New England contains an offset clause so that if he's making pick a number, $20 million, in New England, that has to be used to offset whatever he's going to make with the Chargers. Now, I don't know that there's an offset clause. Belichick is notoriously private with everything about his contract. [00:08:10]"
In other words, the New England Patriots could continue paying a portion of his salary, and the Chargers pay the other portion.
Implications of Bill Belichick's AFC West arrival
If Bill Belichick were to ditch the cold, dark northeast for sunny Los Angeles, he'd be entering another tough-as-nails division. If Belichick takes up the Los Angeles Chargers job, the AFC West will feature Andy Reid, Sean Payton, Bill Belichick and potentially Antonio Pierce.
With so much talk surrounding Jim Harbaugh and the Las Vegas Raiders, one can write his name into the division with a pencil. Turf Show Times reported that reporter Vincent Bonsignore of the Las Vegas Review-Journal said Jon Gruden has an above-zero chance of getting his old job.
Bill Belichick, Andy Reid, Sean Payton and Jim Harbaugh/Antonio Pierce/Jon Gruden could be in the same division in 2024. The coaching staff would also have Patrick Mahomes, Russell Wilson, Justin Herbert and Aidan O'Connell.
Of course, only Andy Reid and Sean Payton are the long-term solutions for head coach into 2024. At this time of the calendar, seemingly any name can be speculated concerning coaching vacancies. However, teams don't announce new hires until January, so there's still roughly a month to go.
Until then, rumors and speculation continue to run rampant for teams not currently pushing for a playoff spot.
If any of the above quotes are used, credit Pro Football Talk and H/T Sportskeeda