PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA - JANUARY 03: Quarterback Carson Wentz #11 of the Philadelphia Eagles walks the field as quarterback Jalen Hurts #2 huddles with the team during warm ups prior to the game against the Washington Football Team at Lincoln Financial Field on January 03, 2021 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)
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The NFL continues to grow each year as fans flock to a fantastic, year-round product. The offseason is as much fun as when the games are being played. We’re seeing that now as training camp has every fan base buzzing about what could happen in the 2021 campaign.
One effect of the growing popularity of the league is seeing contracts swell. Many big deals prove fair throughout the life of their duration but others are bad almost immediately. Desperate teams are often caught handing too much money to a player who is either a bad fit or was a one-year wonder.
Sometimes an injury can change the course of a career. Some of the worst NFL contracts belong to oft-injured players, or aging players who secured the bag right before their decline.
Regardless, we’ve identified the 10 worst contracts in the NFL entering 2021. We’ll explain why each deal happened and what makes it so toxic for their team.
10.DeAndre Hopkins, Arizona Cardinals
Full contract: Five years, $94 million, $42.75 million guaranteed
Unlike several players on this list, DeAndre Hopkins is an absolute star who produces at an All-Pro level. Including Hopkins in this list isn’t about Hopkins lacking anything, but rather a reflection of the Arizona Cardinals’ repeated issues overpaying talent. As soon as the Cardinals traded for Hopkins, they handed him a two-year extension worth $54.5 million on top of the three years and $39.5 million owed to him.
The issue with the Hopkins deal is how dramatic the difference between his contract is and the second-largest receiver deal. Arizona reset the market by $5.25 million per-year. It’s no wonder the Packers are having issues re-signing Davante Adams and Bears re-signing Allen Robinson when there’s a huge chasm between Hopkins’ and Julio Jones’ second-place deal.
Hopkins’ 2022 salary already guaranteed this past March, and he’ll receive $10.65 million on the third league day of 2022. The final year of his deal will likely void as the triggers are reasonable, making the Cardinals lose potential value after 2023 as well.
Hopkins is an amazing talent but the Cardinals handed him an unnecessarily favorable contract and broke the market for receivers.
9.Whitney Mercilus, Houston Texans
Full contract: Four years, $54 million, $28.5 million guaranteed
As inspiring as it is to see a player spend their entire career with one franchise, there’s also a level of foolishness at some point. The Texans have had bizarre cap management under previous regimes and Whitney Mercilus is a leftover from the Bill O’Brien spending-spree. Mercilus is a decent overall player but was paid like a top-10 edge-rusher.
Instead of being a high-level compliment to J.J. Watt, he’s had just one season with more than 7.5 sacks. His first three years were essentially guaranteed despite not being an elite player. This was also another example of paying a player off a breakout year.
Mercilus logged 48 tackles and 7.5 sacks after his 2019 extension. However, in 2017-18, he combined for 49 tackles and five sacks. It’s not a surprise his 2020 season had 21 tackles and four sacks. The Texans can escape his contract after this year with a $7 million cap hit in 2022 and $3.5 million hit in 2023.
8.Dante Fowler Jr., Atlanta Falcons
Full contract: Three years, $45 million, $29 million guaranteed
The only way a team would give a streaky producer like Dante Fowler Jr. a significant multi-year deal is to simply bank on their breakout year. And that’s what happened after Fowler suddenly logged 11.5 sacks in Los Angeles during his 2019 campaign. Despite Fowler clearly benefiting from Aaron Donald and a tremendous scheme that opened free rushing lanes for him, the Falcons thought he could be a primary pass-rusher.
Fowler had only 23 tackles and three sacks in 14 games last year. The entire defense disappointed but no one was more absent than Fowler. His 8.1% pressure rate tied for 119th among edge rushers, per PFF.
Thankfully the Falcons can escape the deal after 2021 with minimal harm. But guaranteeing him even two years when the Rams were needing edge help was the sign of a bad process to begin with. The new Falcons regime needs to avoid these costly mistakes.
7.Frank Clark, Kansas City Chiefs
Full contract: Five years, $104 million, $62.3 million guaranteed
In addition to trading a second-round pick to acquire Frank Clark from Seattle, the Chiefs had to pony up a monstrous new deal for the pass-rusher. There was solid reasoning for the Chiefs as they wanted to replace Dee Ford. Clark was a much more consistent overall player and producer in his last three seasons in Seattle than Ford was in Kansas City.
That consistency has disappeared over the last two years. He’s logged just 14 sacks in 29 starts, and his development has stalled. He’s largely been a forgotten man despite making $45 million in his first two years.
Things got worse this offseason as Clark was charged with a felony firearm violation during a separate arrest in March. No one knows his status entering a crucial 2021 campaign. It’s hard to imagine Clark remaining with the Chiefs beyond 2021 as his contract finally has an affordable dead cap hit.
6.Darius Slay, Philadelphia Eagles
Full contract: Three years, $50 million, $30 million guaranteed
The Eagles have a history of rolling the dice on big contracts and they’ve endured their fair share of hits and misses. One-year after trading for Darius Slay, they might have regrets. The Eagles found out why the Lions could only nab a third- and fifth-round pick for a nearly 30-year-old corner who demanded a contract extension.
Slay’s knack for turnovers completely disappeared despite playing in a favorable scheme. He had just one interception and six pass breakups. Both were the least he’s tallied since his rookie year.
Philadelphia already adjusted his contract for 2021 because of the albatross money owed to him. He still qualifies for this list because he was unable to be a positive starter last year. This regime is praying Slay will become more of a playmaker in 2021 so they can avoid paying $25.7 million in dead cap between 2022-23.
5.CJ Mosley, NY Jets
Full contract: Five years, $85 million, $51 million guaranteed
The inside linebacker market was finally reset this offseason with recent extensions for Darius Leonard and Fred Warner. But two years ago, it was C.J. Mosley who cashed in with the New York Jets. Mosley received a whopping $17 million per-year and four years guaranteed to leave the Ravens.
Unfortunately, Mosley has missed all but two games since signing that deal. A major groin strain cost him 2019, and then he opted out of 2020 due to Covid concerns. Expectations are high for Mosley now that the Jets have a renewed optimism around the team.
He’s in a perfect situation to turn the outlook of his deal around thanks to Robert Saleh’s arrival. The Jets have a deep defensive line to protect Mosley. He’s a great box defender and can drop back into coverage with some limitations.
Unlike some of the players on this list, Mosley’s story can certainly be rectified into a success.
4.Robert Quinn, Chicago Bears
Full contract: Five years, $70 million, $30 million guaranteed
The old adage of free agency is to not pay for injury-prone players and avoid one-year breakout performers. Ryan Pace and the Bears threw that out of the window when they splurged on 30-year-old Robert Quinn after bouncing around from Los Angeles to Miami to Dallas. Quinn logged 11.5 sacks in 14 games for Dallas, marking his first double-digit season since 2014.
It would’ve been one thing if Pace structured Quinn’s deal to be a one-year deal with a bunch of fake money in subsequent years. He didn’t, though, and the Bears made tough cap decisions this offseason because of Quinn’s huge $14.7 million cap hit. It’s unbelievable to see such a cap number for a player who had 20 tackles and two sacks last year.
2021 is a make-or-break year for the staff and Quinn alike. Chicago can escape his remaining three years for a reasonable cap hit if Quinn doesn’t prove to be an excellent second pass-rusher across from Khalil Mack.
3.Jared Goff, Detroit Lions
Full contract: Four years, $134 million, $110 million guaranteed
Does anyone think Jared Goff is deserving of the ninth-highest average annual salary at his position at this point? Goff cashed in on the heels of Carson Wentz’s huge extension and right before his disappointing 2019 campaign began. Los Angeles wasted no time in moving two first-round picks and Goff to Detroit for a quarterback seven years older and with the same number of winning seasons on his resume.
Detroit may prove wise if they rehabilitate Goff’s value and produce an efficient downfield passing attack like we saw in 2017-2018. Those days seem so long ago, though, as Goff’s inability to deal with pressure and struggles creating outside of the scripted play have sabotaged his once-budding stardom. It’s virtually unprecedented to see a passer overhaul their instincts in that manner.
The amazing part of Goff’s deal is the extension just kicked in this year. The Lions are on the hook for the remaining $104 million left over after the Rams paid his bonuses at the time of the trade. They have no realistic way out of his deal until after 2022, when they would incur just $15 million in dead money between 2023 and 2024.
2.Carson Wentz, Indianapolis Colts
Full contract: Four years, $128 million, $108 million guaranteed
Maybe it could be argued there’s less production gained from players elsewhere on this list, but Carson Wentz’s albatross contract just began and already cost one coaching staff their jobs. His newest team might be next to say goodbye to their staff if his start in Indianapolis is any indication of how his time there will go. News of a fractured foot that requires surgery spread and cast doubt on his status from anywhere from five-to-12 weeks.
The injury bug is nothing new for Wentz. He’s played more than 13 games just twice in his career and plays a reckless style that invites jarring hits. His large frame has never kept him healthy, even going back to his days at North Dakota State.
When on the field, the Colts don’t know what they’ll get. Wentz was horrible in 2020 as his confidence and mechanics completely broke down. And his downfall had swiftly begun after what now appears to be a fluke 2017 campaign, as each subsequent season brought a new myriad of missed opportunities and decrease in effectiveness.
The Colts swung big on Wentz by risking a 2021 third-round pick and 2022 second-round pick that could become a first-round pick for him. His extension just kicked in, and they’re locked into him for at least two seasons. Frank Reich will need to pull off his finest coaching job yet to make this work.
1.Landon Collins, Washington Football Team
Full contract: Six years, $84 million, $44.5 million guaranteed
Landon Collins’ contract was an immediate eyesore upon signing. Collins had just one productive season in the passing game in his sophomore season in 2016 but has otherwise been a ho-hum box safety every other year. It’s a role that’s greatly depreciated over the last decade-plus.
Despite this obvious limitation, Washington jumped when given the chance to make him the highest-paid safety at the time. Collins put together a 117-tackle campaign in 2019 but had zero interceptions and one sack. He wasn’t a difference-maker in seven 2020 games either.
Now Collins is trying to return from a torn Achilles injury. This is a particularly nasty recovery that usually ends careers. This is no one’s fault, but Washington will look to quickly shed the remaining $48.6 million on his contract after 2021 if Collins can’t return and make a big impact right away.