Big contracts are a staple of every NFL team. As the league continues to grow, the cap continues to increase, which has led to some record-shattering contracts getting handed out in recent years. A lot of these deals have worked out well, and the teams who gave them out have little to no regrets about spending the money.
Other deals have been less than stellar. Players didn’t live up to their end of the bargain and teams are now stuck with an overpaid player. Add in bonuses and guaranteed money, and some of these deals are downright awful. Here are the five worst contracts currently in the NFL.
Dupree isn’t a premiere player in the NFL
Bud Dupree took a while, but he eventually found consistent NFL success when he was with the Steelers. An athletic freak, it took multiple seasons for him to hone his craft, but once he established himself, he was a consistent threat off the edge. He parlayed that success into a big contract with the Titans.
He hasn’t been remotely the player that he was with the Steelers. Injuries have limited him, and his sack production is way down. Luckily for the Titans, most of his guaranteed money has been paid out, so they can cut him and find some cap savings this offseason. It has been a horrible deal for them in every way.
Golladay has been miserable with the Giants
At one point in time, Kenny Golladay was an up-and-coming receiver. Good athleticism and a knack for the end zone made him a top option, and the Giants were eager to surround Daniel Jones with some talent. In his two years in New York though, Golladay has put up arguably his worst professional seasons.
This year was a breaking point, as he was seemingly written off the team and he only netted 81 receiving yards on the year. While a bust of a signing, what makes this deal even harder has been the guaranteed money. Golladay got 40 million locked in when he signed, and it isn’t until this offseason that the Giants could get some actual relief from parting ways.
Even then, cutting him in 2023 only saves 6.7 million out of his 21.4-million-dollar cap charge. He has been abysmal since joining the Giants, and it seems likely that the two sides part ways in 2023. That said, this is a deal the team will be paying for given how bad of a deal it turned out to be.
Elliott proved why NFL teams shouldn’t pay running backs
Early in his career, Ezekiel Elliott was a stud running back that the Cowboy’s offense consistently moved through. He had a rare blend of power and speed that made him hard to bring down. Dallas rewarded Elliott to the tune of a six-year, 90-million-dollar contract that runs through 2026.
The issue is, running backs rarely hold up over time, and even if they do, they wear down quickly and have little impact on long-term success. Elliott has been no different. Injuries have slowed him down, and while Dallas has been a successful team, it has been due to their passing offense and stout defense.
Elliott isn’t even the best running back on his team anymore, and that deal sticks out as a bad one because of it. He can be cut this offseason and would in turn save just under $5 million, but that doesn’t negate the fact that this deal has been poor. His money could have easily been spent better elsewhere.
Adams hasn’t lived up to his mega-deal
Jamal Adams is one of the most unique players in the NFL. While listed as a safety, he is a hard-hitting linebacker essentially. This has led to great run stops and insane sack production. The issue is, Adams is limited as a coverage player. For a safety, this has proven to be a huge issue, as he has been a liability at times for this defense.
Beyond trading the farm for Adams, the Seahawks also inked him to the largest (at the time) deal for a safety in league history. This included a hefty 38 million locked in upon signing. While his run defense has been fine, he hasn’t lived up to his huge deal in terms of coverage. Add in his injury this season and this deal looks bad.
The Seahawks can’t part ways with Adams yet either, as cutting him would result in a 21.3-million-dollar dead cap charge. This means he has one more season to prove his worth and validate his contract. Considering the struggles he has had in coverage though, the odds of that happening don’t seem great.
Wilson has been a huge mistake
The Broncos showed just how badly you can mess up a team in one off-season. Heading into this past season, Denver had a lot of pieces but was just lacking a stable quarterback to guide them. They invested heavily in former Seahawk Russell Wilson, sending multiple draft picks and players in order to acquire him.
Not only did they trade the farm, but they also inked Wilson to a new deal, a new deal that locked him into $161 million once the ink dried. Wilson went on to have his worst season as a professional, and the Broncos fell apart down the stretch. They head into the offseason lacking resources and with questions all over this roster.
Wilson struggling is one thing, but there isn’t a great way to get out of his deal either. Unless a team took on his contract via a trade, Wilson would cost over $100 million to cut. Given his contract structure, Wilson can’t be cut until 2025 at the earliest, and even then, it would only net the team roughly 5 million in cap space. This was a horrible deal all around and it has made the Broncos look foolish.
Big deals in the NFL are a common thing, and usually, they don’t end as poorly as these five deals have. Teams need to be cautious entering the offseason though. Landing a mega deal like one of these and having it fail is a recipe for disaster.