Biggest Contract Fails in NFL History

In the current NFL offseason, we have already witnessed a number of high-profile players get monster free-agent deals. 

Here are just a few:

• Carl Nicks (five years, $47.5 million) and Vincent Jackson (five years, $55 million) received huge contracts from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. 
• Mario Williams signed a six-year, $100 million deal with over $50 million in guarantees with the Buffalo Bills. 
• Cornerbacks Cortland Finnegan (St. Louis Rams) and Brandon Carr (Dallas Cowboys) each got $50 million from their respective clubs. 

While it's impossible to forecast now, there's destined to be a bust or two in one of the big deals signed this offseason. It doesn't have to come from the five players I listed above, but somewhere down the list, there's bound to be a bust. 

However, could any recent signing even begin to approach being one of the worst contract fails in NFL history? We'll let you decide. Here are some of the worst free-agent fails in recent league history:

Joe Johnson, Green Bay Packers (2002: six years, $33 million)

The Packers inked Johnson after Pro Bowl seasons in '98 and 2000 with the New Orleans Saints, but got almost nothing in return for the $33 million deal and $14 million in guaranteed money for the defensive end.

Johnson made just 11 starts over two seasons for Green Bay and registered 12 tackles and two sacks. Two season-ending injuries (torn quad in 2003, torn triceps in 2002) forced the Packers to cut him after the 2003 season, in what turned out to be his final season in the league.

Shaun Alexander, Seattle Seahawks (2006: eight years, $62 million)

It would be hard to blame the Seahawks for investing so much in Alexander in 2006; he was still just 28 years old, and he was coming off one of the best seasons ever by a running back in 2005—1,880 yards rushing and 28 total touchdowns.

However, this deal turned into a bust before the ink even dried. The Seahawks let All-Pro guard Steve Hutchinson walk during the same offseason, and Alexander then proceeded to break his foot during a Week 3 game the following season.

Alexander never cracked 1,000 yards rushing again and toiled under 4.0 yards per carry for his last two seasons in Seattle. He played in four games for the Redskins but was out of out of the NFL by the end of the 2008 season.

Javon Walker, Oakland Raiders (2008: six years, $55 million)

The Denver Broncos released Walker in 2007 due in part to his inability to stay on the field. But come March of 2008, the Raiders were ready to pony up the big bucks to get Walker to Oakland. The $55 million deal included over $16 million in guaranteed money. 

Walker was then robbed during a freak incident in Las Vegas before his first season in Oakland, and the production Oakland thought they were getting from Walker never surfaced. Walker played in just seven games for the Raiders in '08, catching 15 passes for 196 yards and a score. The following season, Walker put in just three games of work before being cut. 

In all, Walker collected over $21 million in earnings in his two years with the Raiders. 

Albert Haynesworth, Washington Redskins (2009: seven years, $100 million)

The Redskins gave Haynesworth the biggest contract ever for a defensive player during the spring of 2009, capping a decade of worthless free-agent signings with quite possibly the biggest bust ever on the open market. 

Haynesworth played in 12 games and registered just four sacks in '09, while openly questioning the Redskins' defensive scheme in-season.

The Haynesworth headache continued in 2010 when Mike Shanahan was brought in as head coach. Haynesworth clashed with the coaching staff throughout the offseason and then appeared in just eight games (zero starts) in 2010. He was suspended by Shanahan in early December. 

By the time the 2011 NFL draft came around, the Redskins were ready to rid themselves of Haynesworth in anyway possible. The team shipped him to New England for a fifth-round pick.

Michael Vick, Atlanta Falcons (2004; 10 years, $130 million)

Hard to knock owner Arthur Blank for signing off on this deal, but Vick made a mockery of it with everything from on-field performance to all the indiscretions he committed off of it. 

The Falcons won just 15 games (15-16 in Vick starts) in the two seasons after the deal was signed, with Vick completing less than 55 percent of his total passes over the stretch. 

Then came the hammer: Vick's dog-fighting conviction. 

He was sentenced to 23 months in federal prison and would never step foot on an NFL field for the Falcons again. Blank and the Falcons attempted to get a large portion of the guaranteed money back from Vick after the conviction, but Vick would still pocket over $30 million in the two seasons after he signed the deal with the Falcons. 

Few deals in NFL history had as far-reaching consequences that the Vick deal entailed. 

DeAngelo Hall, Oakland Raiders (2008: seven years, $70 million)

The Raiders sent two mid-round picks (a third and fifth) to Atlanta for the rights to Hall, then gave him a seven-year deal that included almost $25 million in guaranteed money. Hall wasn't as kind to the Raiders in return. 

He picked off three passes in eight games with the Raiders in '08, but the team cut him to save almost $17 million in guaranteed money midway through the season. Hall never picked up the team's man-to-man defense, but the money was certainly the driving factor. 

By the time Hall was cut, the cornerback had made $8 million in total salary over eight games.

David Boston, San Diego Chargers (2003: seven years, $47 million)

At the time, Boston's $47 million deal with $12 million in guarantees was the biggest contract ever in Chargers history. Just a year into the contract, however, Boston was shipped to the Miami Dolphins for a mid-round pick. 

Boston did catch 70 passes with the Chargers in 2003, but new GM A.J. Smith was never interested in keeping the enigmatic receiver on board. Months into his time in Miami, Boston was serving a four-game suspension for testing positive for steroids.