Las Vegas Raiders - Christian Wilkins, DT, $27.5m per year
Christian Wilkins played in just five games for the Raiders in the 2025 NFL Season due to a foot injury, and he is already set to turn 30 years old during the season. Wilkins was yet another example of former GM Tom Telesco going big-fish hunting in free agency, only to overpay for a player and neglect the overall roster depth.
Wilkins is a good player, but he's not great and is clearly not worth almost $30 million per year. That's just an insane pricetag, but he was one of those free agents that was likely going to get overpaid no matter where he signed, as teams do this every single year.
Los Angeles Chargers - Justin Herbert, QB, $52.5m per year
Before you roll your eyes at me, you have to hear me out - Justin Herbert is paid like an elite QB, but besides the shiny regular season stats, what does Herbert bring? The Los Angeles Chargers have gotten blown out in both appearances in the postseason during the Herbert era thus far, and it just seems like there is a clear and distinct ceiling with this franchise having Justin Herbert as their franchise QB.
He's not particularly close to being an elite player, but that's also the primary issue with the QB market today - finding a competent QB is tough, so teams are often forced to pay top-dollar for them since it's the most important position in all of sports. Justin Herbert is the Chargers worst contract for 2025.
Los Angeles Rams - Davante Adams, WR, $22m per year
Davante Adams did actually have over 1,000 yards with the Jets and Raiders in the 2024 NFL Season, but he caught just 60.3% of his targets and is also turning 33 years old near the end of the 2025 season. Adams is clearly still able to produce at a high level, but the overall decline has been happening for a couple of years now, and you have to wonder if 2025 is where we start to see things really fall apart.
Adams' deal is worth $22 million per year, but is that honestly what the veteran is worth at this point? Did the Los Angeles Rams seriously have to pay over $20 million to sign an aging wide receiver?
Miami Dolphins - Tua Tagovailoa, QB, $53.1m per year
Tua Tagovailoa would be the perfect QB for a team that has had QB dysfunction for years. He's good enough to keep jobs safe but does come with a clear injury concern. However, if a team wants to compete for Super Bowls, the former Alabama QB isn't someone to entrust.
The injury bug has followed Tagovailoa into his NFL career, and the Miami Dolphins are currently dealing with all of that. Things seemed to go off the rails a bit in the 2024 NFL Season, and you get the feeling that if the Dolphins can't at least get into the postseason, jobs could be lost.
And if that happens, would a different team even be willing to trade for Tua Tagovailoa? He's getting paid well over $50 million per year, which is simply way too much money for the performance they get.