Good NFL Players on Really Bad Contracts
- Costly contracts for talented NFL players seem to often lead to underperformance.
- Aging players and the effects of missed seasons should deter teams from big contracts.
- Teams pressured into bad contracts tend to overlook the implications and struggle to recover.
There are many good players in the NFL, but they’re not all worth the contracts they’re signed to. Between free agency and contract extensions, there are as many bad contracts signed as there are ones that are worth it. Within the last few months, several bad contracts have been signed without the players even playing a snap.
Interestingly enough, NFL teams are often pressured to cave into bad contracts, whether from the fans, the short time in free agency, or previous success. While it’s a bad excuse, it’s the sad reality of many front offices.
Some players are good at what they do but haven’t lived up to the contracts they’re signed to. With cap space consistently increasing, so do the contracts of players. We have often seen players receive more money than they should’ve, hurting the team in need. These five players are perfect examples of guys that are talented but not worth the large contracts they have:
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Deshaun Watson, QB, Cleveland Browns
A year away from football has turned Watson from a top-five to bottom-ten quarterback upon joining the Browns.
GIVEMESPORT Key Stat: Deshaun Watson’s five-year, $230 million deal with the Cleveland Browns was the first fully guaranteed contract in NFL history.
In Watson’s two years as the Browns starting quarterback, he’s thrown 14 passing touchdowns and nine interceptions, with a 59.8 completion percentage. He’s still as effective as a runner but severely declined as a passer. Watson went from a great player to a quarterback who deserves to be replaced. That isn’t good enough for the ninth highest-paid quarterback in the NFL.
Cleveland is in a horrible spot with this contract, as they don’t have a way to get out of it. He’s under contract through 2026, with three consecutive years of $63 million cap hits. Watson has no choice but to improve, or else the Browns are in big trouble.
Calvin Ridley, WR, Tennessee Titans
Ridley is a good fit for the Titans, despite being massively overpaid this offseason.
Your idol can’t maintain custody of her own children https://t.co/6IdSAXaqOD
— Paul Booming (@blakebooming) July 10, 2023
The Jacksonville Jaguars built a role for Ridley where he had ample opportunities to be successful, but he couldn’t fully take advantage of them. Ridley was the second most targeted player on the team, yet he had the second-lowest success rate and catch percentage among wide receivers on the team. Furthermore, he had the fifth-most drops in the NFL.
While his contract was probably more than he deserved, Ridley is still a good player. He’s not deserving of WR1 money, but he can still have a considerable role in the Titans offense. The Titans obviously needed to outbid the Jaguars to ensure that he wouldn’t return to Jacksonville, increasing Ridley’s salary.
Taysom Hill, TE, New Orleans Saints
The Saints hybrid playmaker is not worthy or productive enough to make $10 million per season.
There is no doubt about it that Taysom Hill is a fun, versatile player. He’s truly position-less, as he can play quarterback, running back, or tight end. Hill’s four-year, $40 million contract expires in 2025, but the damage doesn’t end there. His cap hits continue through 2027, and are relatively substantial for a gadget player.
Even though Hill’s contract runs out after 2025, contract restructures have caused his cap hits to follow the two seasons after his contract expires. For years, the New Orleans Saints have been known to be in a bad cap situation, and this is a perfect example of how. He is coming off his most complete year as a player, with 401 rushing yards, 291 receiving yards, and six total touchdowns. These statistics still aren’t good enough to rank him as the 11th highest-paid tight end.
New Orleans was so enthusiastic about having a gadget player that they completely overpaid what he deserved. In 2024, Hill has the sixth-highest cap hit on the team, consuming 3.6% of the cap space. This is higher than standout safety Tyrann Mathieu, linebacker Demario Davis, and starting tight end Juwan Johnson. This is a clear misuse of resources by the Saints, and they’re going to be stuck dealing with the repercussions of this contract even after it expires.
Von Miller, EDGE, Buffalo Bills
Despite a productive first season, all it took was a torn ACL for this contract to look like one of the worst in the NFL.
Von Miller was a productive part of the Los Angeles Rams Super Bowl team, but no one expected his time to be good enough to receive a six-year, $120 million contract in free agency. After a 9.5 sack season, the Buffalo Bills felt comfortable paying a 30-year-old edge rusher $20 million annually. He played well at first but then tore his ACL towards the end of the 2022 season.
You can never predict injuries, but you can expect an aging player to decline. The torn ACL only expedited that process, as Miller was non-existent on his return to the Bills defense in 2023. It was a frustrating season for Miller, and it’s frustrating for the Bills front office to pay that type of money for a player who may never be the same. In the 2024 season, Miller has the second-highest cap hit with $15.1 million, coming from a season where he never played more than 50% of snaps.
Where does Buffalo go from here? They can designate him as a post-June 1 cut in 2025, but they will still be penalized with $6.3 million dead money. Unfortunately, that might be the best option after Miller’s disappointing 2023 season.
Darius Slay, CB, Philadelphia Eagles
Once considered one of the best cornerbacks, Darius Slay contributed to the 30th-ranked pass defense in 2023.
Darius Slay is still a quality cornerback, but he’s no longer among the elite guys at the position. Slay is only getting older, but there’s no real way for the Philadelphia Eagles to get out of his three-year, $42 million contract. He’s still a good player who can start, but as he gets older, it’s unlikely that he will be able to keep up with the best wide receivers in the NFL. 2023 was still a good season for Slay, but the problem is his salary prohibits the Eagles from being able to fix some of the other issues within the secondary. His salary, being the 11th highest-paid cornerback in the NFL, is more than a cornerback heading into his mid-30s should be paid.
Slay has the fifth-highest cap hit in 2024 with a $10.6 million cap hit. As good of a job as Howie Roseman typically does in free agency, he overpaid both of his cornerbacks, including Slay and James Bradberry. This could’ve been prevented if the Eagles had prepared to replace both corners in the last two drafts, but the cornerback position was completely avoided in the first two rounds of the last three drafts until 2024 when the team selected Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean with their first two picks.
If Slay continues to perform at the level he has, his contract could be justified. But with his age and the recent performance of the Eagles secondary, Roseman probably would’ve liked to spend the money elsewhere to retain a strong secondary for a longer period.
All stats are courtesy of Pro Football Reference and Spotrac.
