Worst Sports Signings Part 2: BR5

After an injury-filled season, a rebound was expected for wide receiver Javon Walker in 2008. What did happen was 15 catches for 196 yards, and the next season he made a whopping zero catches. This pitiful production cost the Oakland Raiders a regretful $21 million.

In 2001, Deion Sanders and the Washington Redskins were not on the same page. Prime Time didn’t really have any intention to play, unbeknownst to the Redskins, who decided to give the former great $56 million over seven years. The result of all this was a disappointed Washington Redskins organization and a very nice retirement gift for Deion.

The lack of desire to play must have been contagious in Washington, since Albert Haynesworth was not worth his paycheck, either. The defensive tackle was one of the best in the game while in Tennessee. That all changed when he ended up signing with the Redskins for $100 million over seven years. He then ended up only recording 53 tackles and 6.5 sacks in his time with Washington. He has since bounced around a couple teams and has found a place in free agency.

The Mets have made plenty of questionable decisions in recent years, but one of their worst dealt with the signing of Bobby Bonilla. New York decided he was worth $29 million over five years in ’91, making him the highest-paid player in baseball at that time. Bonilla then showed exactly why he didn’t deserve it, averaging .270 and leading the Mets to some pretty pathetic seasons.

For some reason, Bonilla was brought back in ’99 to repeat the same amount of production. This ended with a deferred buyout, requiring the Mets to pay him over a million for the next 25 years—making this a horrible signing that keeps on hurting.

The Washington Wizards in 2008 offered a then-great Gilbert Arenas $127 million. Arenas then graciously decided to take only $111 million over six years for the team. This softened the blow, but it still did damage, as he was injured often and even brought guns into the Wizards' locker room. Now Arenas averages 4.2 points per game in Memphis and will forever be known as the most expensive benchwarmer in NBA history.