Breaking down some of the WORST contracts in the NFL and the players attached. Right off the bat, we can look at Russell Wilson and Daniel Jones as marquee players holding a ton of cap space hostage.
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1) Deshaun Watson
Deshaun Watson received a fully guaranteed $230 million deal over five years with the Cleveland Browns, and given his poor production on the field and terrible rap off of it, this is a strong candidate for the worst contract in the NFL. He’s thrown for just 14 touchdowns as a Brown and has had multiple injuries that have knocked him out for the season, with his outlook dimming more and more as the weeks go on.
2) Russell Wilson
Russell Wilson signed a disastrous five year $242 million deal with the Denver Broncos, but the reason he does not end up at the top of this list is because of the fact that they only guaranteed about half of that money. Still, the dead cap hits are back-breaking, and the Broncos are likely headed for another prolonged stretch of futility, as they have yet to return to the postseason since winning the Super Bowl in 2015.
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3) Von Miller
Von Miller has been a disaster for the Buffalo Bills, as his lack of production and health alone would place him on this list. Signing a six-year $120 million deal despite being in his 30s, Miller has also had some very serious off-field issues, and the signing as a whole has been a complete disaster. With the Bills’ recent financial issues, this deal has truly tanked their flexibility in free agency.
4) Daniel Jones
Despite everyone knowing that Daniel Jones wasn’t much of a permanent QB option, the New York Giants still handed him a four-year $160 million deal. Now it’s not as bad as it sounds, as they built in an out after the second year, but his awful play behind center and huge cap hit for the season is still a hindrance, and the injury guarantee means they’ll likely have to bench him as nothing suggests he’ll stay healthy for the full season or else they owe him more money.
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5) Derek Carr
The New Orleans Saints turned down a chance to take them out on Derek Carr’s deal, instead choosing to restructure it and essentially guarantee that they’ll hang onto him for the next two seasons. His $51 million cap hit for next year and average-at-best pay make this contract a disaster, especially seeing how long the Saints have been in cap hell.
6) Taysom Hill
Taysom Hill has versatility, but paying $15 million toward a player to be at best a league average contributor on the running and receiving side of things is just rough. There are better value backs out there that can do the job of catching and running the ball at a much lower price with similar production, and considering that Taysom Hill is entering his age-34 season, this deal is just flatout rough.
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7) Matthew Stafford
Matthew Stafford’s contract has rewarded the Los Angeles Rams with a Super Bowl, and he’s still a good player in this league, but paying about $100 million in terms of cap hits for the next two seasons combined for his aging play isn’t great. Injuries have been more frequent lately as well, and there isn’t an out until 2026, where they’d still have to eat about $18.5 million of deadcap money.
8) Jerry Jeudy
Maybe this is a reach given that he hasn’t played a game under his new contract, but for a receiver who has never had a 1,000-yard campaign and has never made a full season’s worth of starts, paying him about $19,000,000 is rough. Technically, the signing bonus limits the cap hit a lot, but there are no realistic ways to get out of this deal for the first three seasons, and it feels like an unnecessary risk for a player who hasn’t had consistent NFL success.
9) JuJu Smith-Schuster
Juju Shmith Schuster is owed $10 million to do…nothing for the New England Patriots, as he caught just 47 balls for 260 yards. While he won a Super Bowl in 2022 and was a Pro Bowl receiver in 2018, the production has completely evaporated, as he can’t stay on the field reliably and has struggled to elevate the game of pocket passers who have paired with him in recent years.
10) Miles Sanders
The Miles Sanders deal went from a potential steal to some to an absolute dud, as he’s going to eat up about $7.6 million in cap money while being a poor rusher and limited pass catcher for a Panthers team in desperate need of weapons. Perhaps better line play helps him, but Miles Sanders is starting to look a lot more like a product of the Eagles’ running system instead of a legitimate back.