Nebraska paid Mike Riley, Shawn Eichorst lump sums of nearly $7 million combined to clear them off payroll​

Nebraska paid Mike Riley, Shawn Eichorst lump sums of nearly $7 million combined to clear them off payroll​
Shawn Eichorst and Mike Riley were fired about two months apart. RYAN SODERLIN/THE WORLD-HERALD

Former Nebraska coach Mike Riley has been off NU’s payroll for nearly a year.

That’s because NU paid Riley, fired in late November 2017, a lump sum of $6,235,393 weeks after Riley was hired as an Oregon State assistant Dec. 6, 2017, according to NU Deputy Athletic Director John Jentz, also the athletic department’s chief financial officer.

Riley changed his job title to offensive analyst. His annual salary at the time — $50,004 — ate into the $6.6 million he was due from NU after being fired more than three years before his contract was set to expire.

Typically, coaches remain on payrolls for years with monthly payments — former coach Bo Pelini is still receiving payments from NU through February 2019.

Former Athletic Director Shawn Eichorst — hired in June by Texas to run its internal affairs division — received a lump sum payment of $762,439 shortly after he got the Texas job.

Nebraska Athletic Director Bill Moos said Thursday night on his monthly radio show that both contracts were “paid off.”

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