Nov 25, 2024; Inglewood, California, USA; Baltimore Ravens coach John Harbaugh (left) shakes hands with brother and Los Angeles Chargers coach Jim Harbaugh after the game at SoFi Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Ravens' John Harbaugh One-Ups Brother With New Extension

Originally posted on Baltimore Ravens on SI
By Jon Alfano | Last updated Mar 29, 2025 11:00 AM ET

John Harbaugh of the Baltimore Ravens and Jim Harbaugh of the Los Angeles Chargers are both exceptional NFL coaches, but when it comes to head-to-head matchups, the elder brother has always had the edge.

In their three matchups, John is a perfect 3-0 against his younger brother. That includes a meeting in Super Bowl XLVII, where John's Ravens defeated Jim's San Francisco 49ers 34-31 in New Orleans. Even when Jim spent nearly a decade in the collegiate ranks, John still got the better of him upon his return, as the Ravens defeated the Chargers 30-23 at SoFi Stadium last season.

Now, John has reportedly gotten the better of his younger brother in another way.

On Friday, John signed a three-year extension with the Ravens that keeps him under contract through 2028. According to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport, John will now earn more money per year than Jim, who's already among the league's highest-paid coaches.

Ian Rapoport on John Harbaugh’s extension with the Ravens

“My understanding is the extension is actually north of his brother Jim”

Jim Harbaugh earns $16 million per year AAV

If John surpasses that, he’d easily be one of the NFL’s highest-paid HCs pic.twitter.com/uIQznwfX85
— Kevin Oestreicher (@koestreicher34) March 29, 2025

"Big-time extension, lucrative extension, for John Harbaugh," Rapoport said. "He gets a three-year deal. He was actually going into the last year of his deal, which, you know, can create some drama, can create some discussion. Not like he's in any trouble, but I'm just saying, when you're going into the last year of your deal, there's always a talk. And so what they did was they ended the talk, they made him very richly-paid, as he has already been.

"My understanding is the extension is actually north of his brother Jim, which should be an interesting conversation at various tables during holiday time. He is now locked in through 2028."

Sportico has Jim as the third highest-paid head coach in the NFL at $16 million per year, tied with Mike Tomlin of the Pittsburgh Steelers. The only coaches that make more than that are Sean Payton of the Denver Broncos at $18 million per year and Andy Reid of the Kansas City Chiefs at $20 million per year.

It may be a while before we know John's true salary, but assuming that Rapoport's report is correct, he will easily be among the top five highest-paid coaches and likely the top three as well.

In 17 years with the Ravens, John boasts a 172-104 regular season record, 12 playoff appearances, six AFC North titles and the aforementioned Super Bowl victory over his brother. While he's far from a perfect coach, he has kept the Ravens as one of the league's better teams throughout his tenure. So, it's easy to see why the team wants to keep him around for a while longer.

This article first appeared on Baltimore Ravens on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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