Steve Kerr, Warriors Agree to New HC Contract Amid NBA Rumors, Details of Deal Revealed

The Steve Kerr era continues.

The Golden State Warriors and their long-time head coach agreed to a two-year contract extension on Saturday, according to ESPN's Shams Charania, Anthony Slater and Ramona Shelburne.

Kerr's new deal will keep him as the NBA's highest-paid coach annually, Charania added. He made $17.5 million for the 2025-26 season, per Charania, Slater and Shelburne.

Kerr had numerous meetings with Joe Lacob and general manager Mike Dunleavy regarding his future over the last several weeks, with the sides "discussing everything from offensive philosophy to the long-term outlook of the roster to the bigger picture direction of the franchise and, eventually, the contract terms it would require to bring Kerr back," per Charania, Slater and Shelburne.

"It was never going to be about money," one team source told Charania, Slater and Shelburne. "We had to make the best basketball decision."

According to Charania, Slater and Shelburne, Warriors management "did some light information gathering" on potential replacements for Kerr if he left the organization but Lacob, Dunleavy and Stephen Curry "never truly desired a divorce" with their long-time head coach.

Kerr, 60, opened the 2025-26 season in the final year of his contract, a fairly rare occurrence for a coach of his pedigree. He seemed perfectly fine with that setup, however.

"I'm very comfortable going into the season with a year left," he told reporters in late September. "I'm so aligned with [general manager] Mike [Dunleavy] and [owner] Joe [Lacob]. We talked about this—there's no reason for discussion or concern. This is kind of a point in our relationship where let's just see how it is at the end of the year."

The trio of Stephen Curry, Jimmy Butler and Draymond Green each had two seasons remaining on their deals heading into the season, calling into question whether Kerr would also attempt to align with that timeline. But he didn't seem pressed to do so.

"I love my job," he told reporters in September. "I love what I'm doing every day. I can't wait to get to the building. Hopefully I'm here for another few years. But I think it makes sense for the organization and for me to see where this thing is at the end of the year—where they are and where I am. Hopefully that means we run it back, we keep going with this group, that'd be awesome. But I like the fact we can do it how we want it."

The Kerr years have been the most successful in franchise history, with four NBA titles and eight playoff appearances across his 12 seasons. He has gone 604-453 in that time, and the duo of Curry and Kerr have been the two franchise constants through the most fruitful period in the organization's existence.

So it only felt right that Kerr would remain in Golden State, and perhaps will remain head coach for as long as Curry continues to play.