New England Patriots: Is Bill Belichick Worthy of Being the Highest Paid Coach?

It's official, pending the retirement of Los Angeles Lakers head coach Phil Jackson, the New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick is now the highest paid coach in all professional sports, according to a rankings done by Forbes.

In the rankings, Forbes describes Belichick as being practically nothing but a winner and deserves to take home quite the pay check.

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In 11 seasons on the New England Patriots' sideline, Bill Belichick has won 72 percent of his games, made eight postseason appearances and taken three Super Bowl titles.

Little surprise, then, that Belichick now takes home more money than any coach in the four major North American sports leagues—some $7.5 million a year, we estimate. The Patriots have never publicly confirmed Belichick's contract details, but industry pundits have little doubt that the long-term extension he signed in 2007 is north of the roughly $7 million annually that Mike Holmgren was getting from the Seattle Seahawks.

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According to the rankings, Belichick edges out coaches Pete Carroll of the Seattle Seahawks, Mike Shanahan of the Washington Redskins and Doc Rivers of the Boston Celtics—all three of those coaches earn $7 million annually. 

As Belichick is not only the highest paid coach in the NFL, but in the entire world of sports, is he really worth the price? 

To sum it up in a few words: You betcha.

Belichick, like many other NFL coaches, is not only the head coach, but he's also the team's general manager—meaning he does the job of two people, which is very impressive.

While Belichick has been running the show as both head coach and general manager, he's certainly done it phenomenally. As Forbes stated in it's rankings, Belichick has won 72 percent of his games ever since he joined New England in 2000—which is an incredible 126-50 record.

If you take a look at the surrounding coaches in the NFL who sit with a $7 million paycheck (Carroll and Shanahan), I'd definitely consider Belichick's contract quite the bargain—considering he's only raking in roughly half a million more.

Belichick isn't just the league's (and the world's) highest paid coach, but he's the league's best coach. With that being said, Belichick is worth every single dollar Robert Kraft and the New England ownership decides to pay him.

This article was first seen at PatriotsPlus.net. Be sure to follow Tony Santorsa on Twitter @  TonySantorsa.