Salary Negotiation for Coaches

Hello! Over the years, CG Sports has consulted with many professional coaches on their salary negotiations and compensation packages. Negotiating a compensation package for yourself is a very emotional process. Many find it stressful, draining and way outside of their comfort zone. However much of this is merely due to not knowing “what” and “how much” to ask for. Today, we pull back the curtain to help give you more confidence as you head into your next big contract negotiation.

Below is a sample scenario where you would be negotiating with a new team.

1. Base salary: This one is always the elephant in the room. As employer conducting a search for an experience head coach will be expecting some negotiation. But you may be nervous to ask for the number you have in mind for an annual salary. I try to advise of thinking of it in terms of your overall annual compensation package. Of which salary is one part. For salary negotiations, a good benchmark is to ask for 10-20% above the number you are hoping to receive. This gives you some room to negotiation while not being so far out of their range that you price yourself out. If you know that you are the sole finalist, you can lean more towards the 20%. If you know that it’s down to you and another candidate, you will want to consider leaning closer to the 5-10% range.

2. Signing or re-signing bonus: A signing bonus is to help you as the new leader of the club get the best start possible in your new role, by alleviating the financial stress that comes with changing jobs. Not every club may do this, but it’s certainly worth asking for. The signing bonus can also be a “give/get” negotiation tool for you. You can “give” by accepting a smaller signing bonus (or no bonus) in exchange for a higher base salary or better bonus structure.

3. Moving reimbursement: This really depends on what you anticipate your moving costs to be. Maybe $10k realistic for you and your family? If not, then you may want this to be bumped up. It can be spaced out as: $10,000 in moving expenses with $8k paid up front and $2k reimbursed after 6 or 12 months on the job. This gets you to a higher number and gives them a little breathing room on cash flow.

4. Severance/non-competes: If it is a high profile coaching job, you will want to make sure you have enough of a severance parachute to cover you while you find a new job. Three months may not be a realistic amount of time, especially if this occurs in the middle of a season. It could take you an entire 12 months to find a new coaching job, move your family, etc. Typical non-compete clauses may attempt to prohibit you from working for any team within a 100 mile radius for a period of 6 months. In non-competes you can argue that this is preventing you from getting a job so the Employer needs to be compensating you for this period - hence, the ask for a 6 month salary fee as severance.

5. Performance Bonuses: Performance bonuses should play to your strengths as a coach while also balancing the goals of the club. The club is bringing you in to take them to new heights. Make sure you know what those goals are and that you have bonuses in place to compensate you for hitting them.

A sample set of performance bonuses could include:

1. US Olympic Team Qualifier: 1 qualifier $2,500; 2 qualifiers $5,000, 3 qualifiers; $10,000

2. Top 3 Team Finish (men or women) at US Nationals: $5,000

3. 1st place Team at Summer Juniors (men or women): $5,000, if both win the combined team 1st place: $10,000

4. 1st place finish at Winter Juniors: $2,000 for men or women; $3,500 for combined 1st

5. Achieve team growth to xx swimmers - bonus of $5,000 or 10% increase on base salary going in to that season.

Ultimately the idea here is to increase your base salary and outline ways you can earn a performance bonus that plays to your strengths, while hitting their team goals. If they can't meet you at the base salary that you desire - then push for more in performance bonuses for the first year. In theory you hit those performance bonuses and then this makes a strong case for increasing your base salary in year 2.

While this is just scratching the surface, it will help you feel more confident in your next salary negotiation. If you ever need help, feel free to shoot me an email any time cejih@cgsportsmanagement.com