Ranking the NFL's 6 Biggest Bag Fumbles Since 2015

Contract negotiations are not a simple thing.

Every player wants to receive the most money possible, yet NFL teams are trying to stay within the constraints of the salary cap. Players must also consider the value for others at their position, while executives work to set precedents for future discussions both inside and outside their team.

Balancing all of those factors can, in short, be very difficult. Those negotiations are liable to break down, and a player might not accept a deal.

Hindsight will always tell us whether that was a good choice.

We're looking at a half-dozen players who, in the last decade, reportedly declined a high-dollar offer and ended up whiffing on that gamble.

6. Haason Reddick (2024)

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During the first two seasons of his three-year, $45 million deal with the Philadelphia Eagles, Haason Reddick outplayed the value of his contract. He totaled 27 sacks during the 2022 and 2023 campaigns.

But when Philly didn't meet his desire for a raise, Reddick requested a trade and ended up wasting a season.

After the New York Jets acquired him in March 2024, the edge-rusher immediately entered a holdout that lasted into October. That decision cost him millions in various fines and unpaid money for missing games.

Meanwhile, the Eagles won a Super Bowl—and it's only logical to assume Reddick would've had comparable production. He could've hit free agency as a very expensive top-tier defender.

Reddick instead posted a single sack and found only a one-year offer from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for $14 million.

5. Terrelle Pryor (2017)

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Early in his career, Terrelle Pryor played quarterback for the Oakland Raiders. That didn't work out well, but he was a tremendous athlete and successfully made the switch to wide receiver.

Pryor exploded with the Cleveland Browns in 2016, catching 77 passes for 1,007 yards and four touchdowns in a contract year.

While he wanted $52 million over four seasons, the Browns offered $32 million with $17 million guaranteed. Pryor believed there would be more interest on the open market, but that never materialized.

He ultimately signed a one-year contract for $6 million with Washington and caught just 20 passes in an injury-shortened season.

Within a year, Pryor was out of the league.

4. Dez Bryant (2018)

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Dez Bryant emerged as one of the NFL's most productive receivers during a three-year stretch from 2012 to 2014. He was nothing short of elite.

But then, injuries began piling up. First, it was a foot fracture in 2015. Then, it was a hairline fracture in his right knee in 2016. Rounding out the misfortune was a sprained ankle that hobbled him during the latter half of 2017.

Dallas released him that offseason, and the Baltimore Ravens offered Dez "in the neighborhood" of $21 million over three years.

Bryant declined because he preferred a one-year contract in hopes of rehab his value and getting a raise the following March. He went unsigned until November, caught on with the New Orleans Saints for $1.25 million. However, a torn Achilles on Bryant's second day of practice ended his season.

After not playing in 2019, he made six catches over six appearances with Baltimore in 2020—the final year of his NFL career.

3. Yannick Ngakoue (2020)

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A third-round pick of the Jacksonville Jaguars in the 2016 draft, Yannick Ngakoue collected eight-plus sacks in each of his four seasons there.

The contract drama started before that final year in 2019, though.

Jacksonville offered an extension worth $19 million annually—which would've been fourth in the league at his position—with $50 million-plus in the first two years. Ngakoue and his representation believed it wasn't enough.

Fast-forward to the offseason, and the Jags slapped the $17.9 million franchise tag on Ngakoue after extension talks crumbled.

However, his refusal to sign the tag resulted in Jacksonville shipping him to the Minnesota Vikings, where he signed for a more modest $12 million. Ngakoue then inked a two-year, $26 million pact with the Raiders in free agency.

2. Orlando Brown Jr. (2022)

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Following the 2021 campaign, it was clear Orlando Brown Jr. was about to get paid. The left tackle had excelled in three seasons with Baltimore and a year on the Kansas City Chiefs, making three straight Pro Bowls.

The operative question, of course: How much is that worth?

Kansas City offered a six-year, $139 million contract—that realistically was more like $95 million over five years—but Brown's side rejected the deal because it didn't include enough guaranteed money after the first two seasons.

The good news: Brown played well on the $16.7 million franchise tag, and the Chiefs won a Super Bowl.

The bad news: His financial gamble didn't pay off. Brown joined the Cincinnati Bengals on a four-year, $64 million agreement.

1. Le'Veon Bell (2018)

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"I should never have left."

Five years later, that sentence summed up this mistake-in-hindsight move by Le'Veon Bell to hold out during the 2018 season.

Look, the reasoning was understandable, even if controversial. As the NFL wavered on how it valued the running back position, the versatile All-Pro wanted more guaranteed money from the Pittsburgh Steelers. The five-year, $70 million offer included just $17 million in guarantees.

The result was a complicated, layered, disappointing journey.

Bell missed that season—and its salary—then signed with the Jets for $52.5 million over four years. From a guarantee perspective ($27 million), Bell didn't lose out completely. That wasn't bad.

The bigger issue is the holdout and team change effectively ruined his career. Bell trudged to 3.2 yards per carry with New York in 2019 before bouncing around four teams and totaling 597 scrimmage yards during his last two seasons.