The Las Vegas Raiders fired head coach Josh McDaniels the night after the NFL trade deadline, but the franchise will be reaping financial consequences when the dust settles.
McDaniels and the Raiders agreed to a six-year deal in January of 2022; the deal paid him roughly $10 million per season.
At the time, McDaniels commanded a top-10 coaching salary in the NFL, ranked slightly behind Andy Reid and John Harbaugh (both $12 million) and tied with Kyle Shanahan.
After being sacked on Tuesday, McDaniels can rest easier knowing Las Vegas is still required to shell out the remaining of his salary -- the full, guaranteed four years.
That totals to around $40 million, give or take undisclosed incentives.
Raiders still have to pay the final four years of Josh McDaniels' contract
Recent history would indicate the Raiders don't have the best judgment when it comes to coaching contracts. The Raiders' previous head coach, Jon Gruden, had agreed to a 10-year contract in 2018; following the leaked email scandal, he resigned in 2021. However, he was still able to settle with the Raiders to walk away with a reported $60 million for the remainder of his contract.
The chances of the Raiders trying to buy out McDaniels is slim. Whereas Gruden's stint got marred by an off-field controversy, McDaniels was just ... a bad coach. The timing is questionable, but Mark Davis knew exactly what he was doing. Yes, he was going to send $40 million up in flames, but his first priority was getting rid of McDaniels (and Dave Ziegler). The financial consequences mattered less.
For any team that might consider hiring McDaniels in the future, consider this stat: Josh McDaniels is 20-33 in 53 games as head coach. He signed a $12 million contract with Denver and a $50 million contract with Las Vegas. At the end of the day, those two teams paid McDaniels a little over one million a game to win .377 of them.
Maybe think twice.
