Miami Heat and Erik Spoelstra have agreed on a historic contract extension, which will see the 53-year-old extend his record as the longest-serving manager in the franchise’s history.
Spoelstra, a three-time NBA champion and the second-longest-tenured manager in the league, has signed an eight-year extension reportedly worth around $120 million, with his current deal expiring at the end of the season.
The Illinois native, who has reached the NBA Finals six times, is also the second-highest-paid coach in the NBA, just behind San Antonio Spurs Hall of Fame head coach Gregg Popovich.
ESPN Sources: Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra’s contract extension includes the most committed coaching money in history: eight-years, $120-plus million. pic.twitter.com/S7cX4a3gwW
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) January 10, 2024
Spoelstra originally joined Miami in 1995 as a video coordinator under Hall of Famer Pat Riley. He subsequently became Riley’s assistant before finally replacing him in 2008, when he stepped down as the Heat’s head coach.
He is one of 14 coaches in NBA history to win two championships, and he is behind only Popovich once again in terms of tenure with a single franchise, having spent 16 years as head coach of the Heat.
Spoelstra sits third behind Popovich and Rick Carlisle of the Indiana Pacers as active coaches with the most games won, as his 725 victories help him maintain the 19th position among coaches with the most wins in NBA history.
Spoelstra won a ring as assistant manager in 2006 and led Miami to four consecutive NBA Finals appearances and back-to-back titles in 2012 and 2013 as head coach, building one of the best “Big Three” in league history with LeBron James, Chris Bosh, and Dwayne Wade.
Since then, he has taken the team to two more NBA Finals, in the bubble in 2020 and in the 2022–23 season, where they lost to the Los Angeles Lakers and the Denver Nuggets, respectively.
The Heat are currently in fifth place in the Eastern Conference with a 21-15 record in the regular season.
