Amid the pomp and splendor of Jon Gruden's news conference when he returned to the Raiders in 2018, the jaw-dropping megadeal was never far from the stage. In one chair sat team owner Mark Davis in a silver-gray pinstriped suit, emotionally exhaling about his dream becoming reality. Next to him, a beaming Gruden sat with a black and silver tie, thanking Davis from the bottom of his heart.
The spoken bond between them was a shared vision of the future. The unspoken bond, the one that had the entire NFL buzzing, was the 10-year, $100 million contract delivered to Gruden to guide that vision.