Not So Worthy NFL Contracts: The Overpaid Players
The cost of NFL contracts has skyrocketed in recent decades. To earn more than $100 million as a quarterback used to be an astonishing accomplishment. One of them, Patrick Mahomes, is currently signed to a $500 million contract.
There are other areas of the NFL where demand has grown dramatically beside the booming quarterback market. Along with top defenders at other expensive positions like cornerback, pass rushers frequently get nine-figure contracts.
Tyreek Hill, Davante Adams, A.J. Brown, DK Metcalf, and Deebo Samuel are just a few of the receivers in the NFL who have pushed to reshape that market. The absolute minimum that a team will pay a No. 1 receiver appears to be $20 million per year.
NFL teams are eager to spend a lot of money on top-tier talent, and some of those deals will be worthwhile. Some teams, however, pay exorbitant prices for them because others believe their value to be overstated. This leads to some terrible deal values that are frequently given to ageing superstars or players with a ton of promise who simply plateau sooner than anticipated.
Worst NFL contracts of 2022
Value of the entire contract: $230 million
AAV: $46,500,000
$230 million in guarantees overall (100 per cent)
Watson’s contract was baffling from the moment the Browns signed him to it. Although Watson is a skilled quarterback and only 26 years old, he has serious off-field issues related to claims of sexual assault and misbehaviour that have cast doubt on his eligibility for the 2022 NFL season. Following the NFL’s inquiry into Watson’s breach of the league’s personal conduct policy, Watson was ultimately given an 11-game suspension. As a result, Watson will only participate in six regular-season games for the Browns in 2022; yet, if Cleveland misses the playoffs, he would still get a salary of $45,367,500, or $7,561,250 per game.
Commanders, quarterback Carson Wentz
Contract value in total: $128 million
$32 million AAV
Guarantees totalling $66.5 million (52 per cent)
Compared to Watson’s contract, Wentz’s isn’t nearly as hazardous. In fact, should Wentz struggle in 2022, the Commanders are free to trade him without incurring any cap costs. Nevertheless, it’s difficult to be very moved by his performance in the most recent seasons.
Wentz has put up respectable stats over the past four years, but he isn’t the same top quarterback he was in 2017 when he was selected to the Pro Bowl. He appeared to be headed for long-term success at the moment, but an ACL injury cut short what could have been an MVP year. He is currently, at best, a middle-tier quarterback.
Wentz has completed 63.2 per cent of his throws for 3,324 yards on average, 23 touchdowns, and nine interceptions since 2018. Again, while those numbers are respectable, his total record in those games is only 26-29-1. Additionally, in his lone playoff start, he completed just 1 of 4 passes for 3 yards and was forced to leave the game due to a concussion.
Even if Wentz recovers, he shouldn’t likely rank as the NFL’s 12th highest paid quarterback in terms of AAV. He simply hasn’t performed up to the expectations set forth in the deal, which was predicated on his potential.
Titans, quarterback Ryan Tannehill
The total cost of the contract: $118 million
$29.5 million in AAV
$62 million in guarantees overall (52.5 per cent)
The Tannehill deal is comparable to the Wentz deal, despite the fact that the Titans quarterback has had a little bit more success lately. Although he has assisted in Tennessee’s three successive playoff berths, his turnover problem has occasionally come at a high cost to the team.
Tannehill had an interception rate of 2.6 last season, which was tied for fifth-highest in the NFL. He threw 14 interceptions. Tannehill’s pick-throwing issues were on full display against the Bengals in the postseason as he threw three expensive interceptions that ultimately cost the Titans the opportunity to advance to the AFC Championship Game. Tannehill was also “deeply scarred” by the defeat.
Tannehill has demonstrated his ability to lead a club to success with a 30-13 record while starting for the Titans during the regular season. The fact that Tennessee chose to give him roughly $30 million annually has nevertheless hurt the team and led to the departure of some important players, including tackle David Quessenberry, guard Rodger Saffold and receiver A.J. Brown.
Tannehill will now face a challenge and need to carry his team a little bit more than usual because those important guys are gone. The reliable game manager might find it challenging to accomplish that, and if he makes a mistake, the team can argue that his employment has reduced the club’s resources. That can end up being one of the motivating causes for the team’s potential regression.
Contract value in total: $90 million
$15 million AAV
Guarantees totalling $28.05 million (31.2 per cent)
Just before the start of the 2019 NFL season, the Cowboys extended Elliott’s contract for another six years. It made sense at the time because, for the second time in his three NFL seasons, he had led the league in rushing attempts (304) and yards (1,434). Dallas’ long-term workhorse thanks to the agreement, but he hasn’t exactly lived up to it.
In the three seasons following the signing of his agreement, Elliott’s performance has steadily deteriorated. He had a Pro Bowl season in 2019, but he hasn’t been as productive in the past two years. He hasn’t been as much of a workhorse either, splitting carries with other athletes.
Over the past two seasons, Elliott’s statistics have been adequate. In 2021, he produced 1,002 yards and tallied 12 touchdowns. Despite this, according to AAV for the whole league, his contract places him as the third best-paid running back. It should go without saying that he is no longer that kind of player, so the $18.2 million cap hit he is expected to receive in 2022 looks excessive.
Value of the entire contract: $72 million
$18 million AAV
$28 million in guarantees overall (38.9 per cent)
The Kenny Golladay experiment in New York has been a colossal flop after one season. The 6-4, 213-pound receiver was signed by the Giants to be Daniel Jones’ genuine No. 1 receiver and danger in the end zone. They were given a disappointingly ineffective starting instead.
For the Giants last season, Golladay had just 37 catches for 521 yards in 14 games. He didn’t catch any touchdown passes despite having a massive frame. The fact that certain offensive linemen had more touchdowns than he did became a running joke among NFL writers.
Lane Johnson has more touchdowns than Kenny Golladay and Kadarius Toney this season. #Eagles
— Mike Kaye (@mike_e_kaye) December 26, 2021
It’s bad enough that Golladay was unable to score, but according to Pro Football Focus, the quarterbacks that targeted him had a passing rating of only 49.9. Even though he only had one drop, he didn’t do much to win over the Giants quarterbacks or their supporters. In the midst of a huge offseason of spending at the position, Golladay’s contract is only the 19th-most expensive at the receiver position. However, it’s simply too much for him, and unless he can recapture the form from last season when he caught a league-high 11 touchdown passes, the Giants will continue to lose money on him.
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