The Las Vegas Raiders and Jon Gruden have reached a contract settlement following his resignation due to the email scandal, according to The Athletic who spoke with Raiders owner Mark Davis. The details of the settlement are unknown, but when Gruden resigned, the Raiders owed him nearly $40 million in guaranteed money. Gruden likely won’t get $40 million from the Raiders due to the circumstances.
Gruden resigned earlier this month after multiple emails leaked that showed him using racist, misogynistic and homophobic language during conversations with former Washington Football team President Bruce Allen. Davis said he didn’t like how the entire situation played out considering the NFL had access to the emails over the summer.
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“It’s a timing issue, that’s probably the disappointment that I had,” Davis said. “If we had gotten the information in the summer when they learned about it, it would have been a lot easier for everyone involved.” Davis also said that the language Gruden used in the emails is not what the Raiders are about. He also noted that he has never seen Gruden use that type of language during his time with the Raiders.
“The Raiders have always stood for diversity, inclusion and social justice, it’s in our DNA,” Davis said. “The emails that Jon sent didn’t reflect that. I have never seen Jon exhibit any of those things in practice with the Raiders. … He is no longer the coach of the Raiders. It’s something that had to be done — it didn’t represent what the Raiders stand for.”
Had Davis known about the emails during the summer, they could have parted ways with Gruden and given the new coach time to get himself acclimated to the team before the start of the season. But despite the issues in Las Vegas, the Raiders are 5-2 and have the best record in the AFC West.
“I think this team and coaching staff has been really grinding for a while,” interim head coach Rich Bisaccia said this week, per the team’s official website. “We had a big stretch before the opening game and we kind of all worked through it, the players worked through it, and then we had the multiple Monday night games and we had short weeks there. So, I think the message for the bye week for the players is to get rest, be really smart and run.”
