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USA Today via Reuters

USA Today via Reuters

The Miami Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra has agreed to a contract extension. Spoelstra has been with the Miami franchise for decades, starting his coaching journey as an assistant coach. His contract extension is worth a staggering $120 million, making it a record-breaking deal for a head coach.

There are several people, even outside of Miami, who are extremely happy with the recognition that Spoelstra is getting for his hard work through this extension. Recently, NBA veteran George Karl posted about Spoelstra, expressing his joy for the coach.

George Karl marvels over the Miami Heat’s progressive thinking

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Karl posted, “I’m proud of the @MiamiHEAT organization re the contract extension of Coach Spo and happy that Pat Riley supports coaches in a progressive way!” The 72-year-old stated that he is proud of the Heat Culture for the way they are pushing the needle in the league. Karl isn’t the only person who is happy for Spoelstra: Ex-Heat star LeBron James also posted about the recent contract extension. He wrote, “Worth Every Single Cent of that contract!!! Congrats Spo!!”

Yesterday, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN reported, “Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra’s contract extension includes the most committed coaching money in history: eight-years, $120-plus million.”

Before becoming an assistant coach with the Heat, Spoelstra was a video coordinator for the franchise. Then in 1997 he became an assistant coach and stayed in that position till 2008. Then he was made the head coach of the Heat franchise and now has struck an all-time record deal with his franchise.

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The Spoelstra $120 million, eight-year deal towers above the previous record held by San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich’s extension deal worth $80 million for five years. This extension speaks for the respect he holds in Heat Culture. Spoelstra has won two NBA championships with the Miami franchise in his career, in 2012 and 2013.

Read More: Erik Spoelstra’s $120 Million Bag Triggers Dwyane Wade’s Uncontrollable Excitement

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This season, the Heat are at #5 on the Eastern Conference charts with a record of 21-15. Before this season kicked off, Coach Spoelstra said, “We’re about the sweat and the grind. It’s about when nobody’s watching. We have a saying at the Heat: ‘There’s a beauty in the grind, there’s a beauty in the sweat.’ That’s about what happens behind the scenes.” As of now, it seems his team is living up to the build-up, and with the season moving toward more serious games, and the coach’s added motivation with a contract extension, we might see him winning his third trophy with the Heat.

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