The 2025 NFL season is over. But the 2026 NFL offseason reality series has just begun. I find the off season fascinating as teams navigate the draft, free agency, and coaching hires.
A viral NFL stat floating around now that the 2025 NFL regular season is over says the Las Vegas Raiders are basically running a “coaching retirement plan”—about $50 million owed to coaches who are no longer coaching them: Antonio Pierce ($8M), Josh McDaniels ($10M), Jon Gruden ($10M), Pete Carroll ($16M), Chip Kelly ($6M).
Now, quick caveat: NFL coaching contracts aren’t always public, and buyout math can be messy—there’s often offset language (translation: “If you get another job, we owe you less”), plus settlements and legal weirdness. But still… even if the number is a little squishy, the point lands like a blocked punt:
Bad hires and rushed decisions don’t just hurt you in the moment. They linger. They invoice you monthly.
In the NFL, they call it dead money. In the church, we call it “Well… we’ve always done it this way.”
Churches Have “Fired Coach Money” Too
Most churches don’t have to write $10M checks to a former youth pastor. The cost is usually sneakier:
• Programs you keep funding because ending them would require an awkward conversation
• Ministries that stopped making disciples years ago but still get prime calendar space
• Systems and subscriptions nobody uses, but they’re on auto-renew until Jesus returns
• Staff roles built for a season that ended, yet the job description never got the memo
• Culture debt from a leadership decision that created distrust, burnout, or cynicism—and now you’re paying the relational interest rate every week
And here’s the killer: you can be “paying” even if it’s not budget line-item obvious.
You pay in volunteer fatigue. You pay in staff morale. You pay in missed opportunities. You pay in guests who quietly decide, “This place feels… stuck.”
Why We Keep Paying
Same reason the Raiders (and all of us) struggle to cut losses:
Sunk cost.
“We’ve already invested so much.”
“It’ll work again if we just tweak it.”
“We can’t waste what we built.”
“But sunk cost isn’t wisdom. It’s guilt with a spreadsheet.”
A Quick “Dead Money Audit” for Your Church
If you want to get ruthless (in the most pastoral way possible), ask:
1. What are we still funding that isn’t producing fruit? (Not hype. Not activity. Fruit.)
2. What’s still on the calendar out of tradition—not mission?
3. What staff time is being spent propping up something that should be allowed to die peacefully?
4. What would we start today if we weren’t busy maintaining yesterday?
5. What are we afraid will happen if we stop? (This one exposes the real idol fast.)
The Question That Won’t Leave Me Alone
If the Raiders can’t escape the financial gravity of old decisions, neither can we.
So… what decisions, programs, ministries, and staff is your church still paying the price for long after they’ve stopped bearing fruit?
And maybe the more uncomfortable follow-up:
What could your church afford—emotionally, spiritually, and strategically—if you stopped paying for what’s already over?
dc.
