Although Raiders coach Jon Gruden technically resigned, the resignation undoubtedly came under threat of termination, if he didn’t choose to leave voluntarily. Unresolved when he abruptly walked away was the balance of his reported 10-year, $100 million contract.
Via Vic Tafur of TheAthletic.com, owner Mark Davis said Wednesday that a settlement has been reached.
Gruden reportedly had $40 million in remaining guaranteed payments. PFT had reported when Gruden signed the contract that it was not fully guaranteed, and potentially backloaded.
The release of claims that Gruden signed in order to get his money likely extends broadly enough to cover the league, especially since the Raiders represent 1/32nd of it. If so, that would prevent Gruden from suing the league for intentional interference with his relationship with the Raiders.
“He’s hurt, he’s really hurt, and I understand that,” Davis said regarding Gruden. “But he understands the ramifications of what he said. I love Jon and I love his family. We all have demons in our lives, and you have to understand that, and you also have to look at redemption as well.”
Gruden’s redemption likely won’t come in the form of a return to coaching in the NFL. And he probably won’t be interested in something like the reconstituted XFL. His future could come in the form of providing NFL content for one of the various sports books, which are trying to get into the sports content business in order to gather a pool of visitors who then can potentially become customers. They’re throwing huge money around, and Gruden possibly could make the same $10 million per year from a gambling company that he was making from the Raiders.