Deshaun Watson and the Most Overpaid Players in NFL History

You know a big signing is an utter failure when the owner of the team that made the move admits after just three years, and with the signee still on the roster, that the franchise "took a big swing-and-miss."

That's what Cleveland Browns co-owner Jimmy Haslam had to say about Deshaun Watson's fully guaranteed five-year, $230 million contract, which was handed out after the organization surrendered three first-round picks and additional draft capital to acquire the quarterback from the Houston Texans in 2022. 

"We thought we had the quarterback; we didn't," Haslam told reporters, "And we gave up a lot of draft picks to get him, so we've got to dig ourselves out of that hole."

With Watson still employed by the Browns at a rate of nearly $36 million for 2025 and unlikely to make any sort of impact in Cleveland again, we figured this would be a good opportunity to see where his $188 million in career earnings to date place him among the most overpaid players in NFL history.

Yes, they're all quarterbacks. 

Salary information courtesy of Over The Cap

12. Joe Flacco

AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster

Career earnings: $181.2 million over 17 seasons to date (23rd of all time)

Accomplishments: Flacco was a legend for his XLVII Super Bowl run, and he deserves credit for a long career in which he was a full-time starter for a decade. 

Failures: His career passer rating of 84.4 is a touch below that of Mac Jones, he's never been an All-Pro or Pro Bowler, and he was a part of just six playoff wins outside of that magical experience in 2013.

11. Carson Wentz

AP Photo/Ashley Landis

Career earnings: $131.9 million over nine seasons to date (52nd of all time)

Accomplishments: The 2016 No. 2 overall pick was an MVP candidate while setting up the Philadelphia Eagles for a successful Super Bowl run in 2017. 

Failures: He was never the same after that in Philadelphia, Indianapolis, Washington, Los Angeles or Kansas City, and he might be done at 32 after starting 16 games just twice in his pro career.

10. Alex Smith

AP Photo/Andrew Harnik

Career earnings: $210 million over 16 seasons (15th of all time)

Accomplishments: The top pick of the 2005 draft battled through a lot of injuries and managed to put together a long career that included a few Pro Bowl campaigns with the Kansas City Chiefs where he was really at his best in his 30s. 

Failures: That said, he was never a consistent star and was part of only two playoff wins in his career...all while making more than Patrick Mahomes has to date.

9. Ryan Tannehill

AP Photo/George Walker IV

Career earnings: $195.1 million over 11 seasons (18th of all time)

Accomplishments: The veteran put up elite numbers in his first two seasons with the Tennessee Titans in 2019 and 2020. 

Failures: Tannehill was the definition of average before that with the Miami Dolphins and after that in Tennessee. He helped the Titans get to the AFC title game in 2019, but he wasn't part of a playoff win outside of that run.

8. Carson Palmer

AP Photo/Rick Scuteri

Career earnings: $172.5 million over 14 seasons (25th of all time)

Accomplishments: The top pick of the 2003 draft was a Pro Bowler and a legit star in two of his first three seasons, and he was a regular starter for 13 years in three different cities. 

Failures: He was simply never the same after suffering a significant knee injury in January 2006, and he was part of just one postseason victory in his long career.

7. Jimmy Garoppolo

AP Photo/Kyusung Gong)

Career earnings: $155.2 million over 11 seasons to date (29th of all time)

Accomplishments: He's actually the 10th-highest-rated passer in NFL history.

Failures: The stat above just shows how warped recent passing numbers have become, and how much the unspectacular Garoppolo benefited from Kyle Shanahan's system in San Francisco. He has never been able to remain healthy or consistent and is really a top-tier backup who has been in the right place at the right time on several occasions.

6. Daniel Jones

AP Photo/Adam Hunger, file

Career earnings: $114.3 million over six seasons to date (81st of all time) 

Accomplishments: Somehow convinced the Giants to hand him a four-year, $160 million extension based mainly on a single playoff win in 2022. 

Failures: Still 28, Jones will add to that total by about $14 million in 2025 despite the fact that he has thrown 25 touchdown passes zero times in six seasons and has never been a consistently reliable quarterback.

5. Jay Cutler

AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee

Career earnings: $127.9 million over 12 seasons (58th of all time)

Accomplishments: The 2006 first-round pick made the Pro Bowl in 2008 before the Broncos traded him to Chicago. 

Failures: Cutler was never a first- or second-team All-Pro, he posted a 90-plus passer rating just once in his career, he led the NFL in interceptions twice, and he won just a single playoff game in a dozen seasons. 

4. Deshaun Watson

AP Foto/Chris Szagola

Career earnings: $188.8 million over eight seasons to date (20th of all time)

Accomplishments: Still the sixth-highest-rated passer in league history, Watson truly was one of the league's brightest stars for the Houston Texans between 2018 and 2020. 

Failures: Ever since, the 2017 first-round pick has thrown a total of 19 touchdown passes in five seasons. Oh, and he's due nearly $117 million over the course of the next two years despite the fact that the Browns have apparently given up on him.

3. Sam Bradford

AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez

Career earnings: $130.0 million over eight seasons (55th of all time)

Accomplishments: He was Offensive Rookie of the Year with 18 touchdown passes and 15 interceptions and a losing record in 2011. Six years later, he put together a short-but-decent run with the Minnesota Vikings. 

Failures: The last No. 1 overall pick to benefit from massive entry-level deals before the league implemented a rookie wage scale in 2011, Bradford was a mediocre-at-best quarterback for the vast majority of a short but lucrative pro career. He was a part of 34 total victories in eight seasons.

2. Dak Prescott

AP Photo/Gareth Patterson

Career earnings: $247.7 million over nine seasons to date (10th of all time)

Accomplishments: The 31-year-old has the eighth-highest passer rating in league history and has managed to put together three Pro Bowl campaigns. 

Failures: He has missed large chunks of three of five seasons in his prime, and he's continually come up short when it matters with just two playoff wins in nearly a decade. This year, Prescott will climb above Drew Brees, Ben Roethlisberger and Peyton Manning on the career earnings list.

1. Kirk Cousins

AP Photo/Daniel Kucin Jr.

Career earnings: $294.0 million over 13 seasons to date (sixth of all time)

Accomplishments: The 11th-highest-rated passer in NFL history has racked up some big numbers while making four Pro Bowls. 

Failures: He's wildly inconsistent and has been a part of just one playoff win in his career. And yet, likely as a backup, his $40 million cap hit in 2025 will move him into third place all-time in career earnings behind only Aaron Rodgers and Matthew Stafford.