SHANAHAN OWES RAIDERS MONEY, TOO

One of the most widely-held beliefs in media and league circles is that the Raiders still owe former coach Mike Shanahan a large chunk of money. And that’s true. To be precise, they owe him $157,625, plus roughly 15 years of interest. (In some jurisdictons, the pre-judgment interest rate would push the total amount due over $400,000.) But what isn’t known (or at least hasn’t been reported) is that the Shanahan owes the Raiders money, too. Specifically, he owes the team $125,000. Though the amount isn’t technically due to be paid until 2025, it’s believed that his debt to the team is one of the reasons for his decision to never file a legal action aimed at compelling the franchise to pay what is owed to him. And even though he apparently owes no interest on the amount until the due date in 2025, there’s another angle that could result in Shanahan being stuck with a hefty tax bill. Since the $125,000 debt was the result of a loan from the Raiders to Shanahan, the Raiders could forgive the loan at any time, triggering the instant transformation of the debt to income. And, as we understand it, the IRS would impute interest onto the original loan, possibly increasing significantly the number that would constitute additional income to Shanahan. Though it’s unclear whether Shanahan has refrained from pushing the matter because of that specific angle, the fact remains that, for whatever reason, he hasn’t filed suit to recover the money owed to him. It’s possible that he has opted instead to simply use the situation as a tool for generating good P.R. for himself, and further bad P.R. for a franchise that has seen plenty of it over the years, and in plenty of cases justifiably. In this case, the Raiders also are partially in the wrong. They owe Shanahan $157,625, and never have paid the debt. But the other side of the coin here is that Shanahan also owes the team $125,000.