Sean Payton figures to fetch an expensive contract from whichever team convinces him to put a headset back on.
But signing Payton to a lucrative deal only will be half the battle of bringing the Super Bowl-winning head coach on board to an organization.
Although the overflow of Payton reports mirrors that of a free agent, he's still contractually tied to the Saints. As such, any franchise interested in making Payton its head coach will need to send some form of compensation to New Orleans.
During Monday's episode of "The Herd" on FOX Sports 1, Payton himself revealed the price tag the Saints have applied to him.
"Mickey Loomis and I have talked already about it," Payton told host Colin Cowherd, as transcribed by Pro Football Talk. "I think ultimately the compensation for the Saints will be a mid or later first-round pick."
According to PFT, Payton plans to meet with ownership of the Carolina Panthers, Arizona Cardinals, Denver Broncos and Houston Texans this week, which leaves the Indianapolis Colts as the only NFL team currently with a head-coaching vacancy that isn't scheduled to speak with the 59-year-old. The aforementioned teams reportedly all are aware of the Saints' asking price.
Of those teams listed, the Panthers and the Broncos might end up in a bidding war for Payton. They both have aggressive owners, the Cardinals can't afford to surrender valuable draft capital ahead of a potential rebuild and the Texans, for whatever reason, appear to be enamored with potential new head coach Josh McCown.
The Denver and Carolina gigs both have plenty of pros and cons, so Payton will have plenty to consider before he picks where he wants to resume his coaching career.
