Jim Harbaugh earns big bonus for leading Chargers to playoffs

Jim Harbaugh has had a profitable 2024.

The Chargers’ first-year head coach earned a $1 million bonus Saturday by Los Angeles securing a playoff berth with a 40-7 win over the New England Patriots, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter. Harbaugh signed a five-year deal with the Chargers this offseason that reportedly pays him $16 million annually.

Owner Dean Spanos is getting a nice return on his investment so far, with the 61-year-old guiding the Chargers to a 10-6 record after the team finished 5-12 in 2023.

Harbaugh, who posted a 44-19-1 record with the San Francisco 49ers from 2011-14, is the first coach in the Super Bowl era to lead two teams that had losing records the year before he arrived and take them to the playoffs in his first season.

“This had very little to do with me,” Harbaugh said after the Chargers clinched. “If it goes right, it’s our players. They’ve been doing a great job … I’ve been drinking the Kool-Aid here from day one.”

Harbaugh has carried his recent success at Michigan to the NFL level. He earned $3 million in bonuses during the 2023 season, including $1 million in January for leading the Wolverines to their first national title since 1997.

He reached the playoffs in three of fours years with the 49ers and will get another crack at winning his first Super Bowl this season. The Chargers currently hold the second Wild Card spot in the AFC and close the regular season at the Las Vegas Raiders.

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