Do-Overs for the NFL's Worst Current Contracts Entering 2024 Free Agency
There isn't much these teams can do about these particularly ugly contracts right now.
In fact, none would likely admit they regret handing out such hideous, poorly aging deals.
But with others likely to make similar mistakes in the coming weeks, we figured we'd walk you through the six worst current contracts in the NFL and at least attempt to suggest how they could have been avoided.
Seattle Seahawks S Jamal Adams
1 of 6
The bad contract: Four years, $70.6 million with $38 million guaranteed. Signed in 2021. Carries a $26.9 million salary-cap hit in 2024, and a dead-cap charge of $10.4 million in order to avoid a walk-year hit of $27.9 million in 2025.
The bad return: Since signing that deal, Jamal Adams has intercepted two passes in 22 games over a three-year span for a Seattle Seahawks team that has been consistently average.
The better option: Not ever knowing Adams existed. Don't forget that the Seahawks also gave up two first-round picks in a 2020 trade for the short-term superstar. It must be frustrating for Seahawks fans to consider what the team could have done with that money and draft capital, but at the very least it could have resulted in more support for Russell Wilson in those final years in Seattle.
New Orleans Saints QB Derek Carr
2 of 6
The bad contract: Four years, $150 million with $100 million guaranteed. Signed in 2023. Cap hit escalates to $51.5 million in 2025, or the team can pay a $40.1 million dead-cap charge to move on.
The bad return: Well in Year 1 with New Orleans, Derek Carr ranked below the league median in QBR for a Saints team that wasn't particularly competitive at 9-8. And should anyone expect that to change dramatically? The soon-to-be 33-year-old hasn't been a Pro Bowler since 2017.
The better option: They should have thrown in the towel on 2023 and started from scratch with Will Levis, who was still available when New Orleans selected Bryan Bresee 29th overall in last year's draft.
New York Giants QB Daniel Jones
3 of 6
The bad contract: Four years, $160 million with $92 million guaranteed. Signed in 2023. Cap hit in 2024 is $47.1 million, and the New York Giants would have to cough up a $22.2 million dead-cap charge to avoid a $41.6 million hit in 2025.
The bad return: Daniel Jones played in six games in his debut season as a very rich man, but that might have been enough to confirm he hadn't suddenly turned a corner after a mediocre run on his rookie deal. The 2019 No. 6 overall pick threw two touchdown passes against six interceptions during that stretch.
The better option: I get that they didn't want to give up on Jones just yet, and that they wanted to keep him and Saquon Barkley together. But Barkley's chances of sustaining things were low. They should have moved on from him and hit Jones with the franchise tag for a prove-it campaign. If they had, they'd truly be in the mix for Caleb Williams, Drake Maye or Jayden Daniels right now.
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Buffalo Bills Edge Von Miller
4 of 6
The bad contract: Six years, $120 million with $51.4 million guaranteed. Signed in 2022. Cap hit in 2024 is $23.8 million, and that rises to $23.9 million in 2025 unless the Buffalo Bills pay him a $15.4 million dead-cap charge.
The bad return: While Von Miller did record eight sacks in 2022, he's played in just 23 games in two seasons with the Bills and is coming off a zero-sack campaign in which his snap count plummeted for the second year in a row. Dude might be a Hall of Famer one day, but he's well beyond his prime. And while the Bills have been in contention, you have to wonder how much closer they'd have gotten with that money allocated elsewhere.
The better option: The very same offseason they signed Miller, the Bills could have had Haason Reddick for less than half of the total price and commitment. Reddick is five years younger than the 34-year-old Miller and is coming off his fourth consecutive double-digit-sack campaign.
Cleveland Browns QB Deshaun Watson
5 of 6
The bad contract: Five years, $230 million (fully guaranteed). Signed in 2022. The Cleveland Browns owe Deshaun Watson $191 million over the next three years.
The bad return: Two years in, Watson has played in 12 total games for the Browns. In most of them, he has performed in mediocre fashion. The former standout with the Houston Texans hasn't consistently executed as an NFL quarterback since 2000.
The better option: It's hard to imagine a worse one. He also cost the Browns three first-round picks! In hindsight, the Browns should have just given Baker Mayfield more time.
Denver Broncos QB Russell Wilson
6 of 6
The bad contract: Five years, $245 million with $161 million guaranteed. Signed as an extension in 2022. Contains a $35.4 million cap hit in 2024, or an $85 million dead-cap charge if they part ways.
The bad return: Two years into his Denver tenure, Russell Wilson has a mediocre 90.9 passer rating for a Broncos team that hasn't come remotely close to contending. At age 35, it's possible he's done.
The better option: It's simple. Don't give up two first-round picks and all that money for Wilson and instead wait to draft Brock Purdy in the seventh-round of that year's draft! OK, even if that's unfair hindsight, the Broncos would have been better off going with a one-year prove-it quarterback before jumping into the first round for one in 2023 or 2024.
Contract information via Spotrac.
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