Power Ranking the Worst Sports Contracts Teams Are Still Paying For
After thriving under Bill Belichick as one of the Patriots top assistants, many around football had high expectations for former Bronco’s head coach Josh McDaniels. 28 games and one videotaping scandal later, McDaniels is out as Denver’s coach.
The man who was hand picked to replace local legend Mike Shanahan wreaked havoc at every turn, and ran a one-great franchise into the ground. Just weeks into his new job, McDaniels entertained a trade of Jay Cutler for Matt Cassel for Jay Cutler before moving the Pro-Bowl quarterback for two first-round picks. JMD also caught flak for benching Brandon Marshall for disciplinary reasons before trading the receiver away in the off-season.
This is a coach who won six consecutive games to start his career before losing a staggering 17 out of 22. His tenure in Denver an utter failure, and yet, his former employer will continue signing him checks for the foreseeable future.
So what are the worst contracts that teams are still paying for? Read on to find out.
10. Vernon Gholston
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An absolute freak of a physical specimen, the 6’3 260 pound Gholston was the number six overall pick in the 2008 draft. The Ohio State product ran a blazing fast 4.58 40-yard dash while benching 220 pounds an unbelievable 37 times.
This type of previously unseen athleticism at the linebacker position earned Gholston a five-year deal with $21 million in guaranteed money.
After looking like a bust in his first two seasons (30 total tackles and zero sacks), Gholston agreed to restructure his contract in the off-season. He will likely be a cap casualty over the off-season, but will earn a staggering $6.5 million this season.
VG50 may not be injured, retired or waived but he might as well be. Through twelve games this season, Gholston has managed all of six tackles and zero sacks. The former star pass rusher has been an utter disappointment and will essentially be paid to sit for the rest of the season.
9. Josh McDaniels
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A week after Broncos owner Pat Bowlen said that McDaniels job was safe, the billionaire oil kingpin fired head coach Josh McDaniels. The 34-year old McDaniels signed a four-year $11.9 million contract just two seasons ago and will reportedly receive his contract buy out today.
While the exact figure the former head coach will earn is unknown right now, McDaniels will likely make a few million dollars for doing absolutely nothing. If there’s an application for that job, where can I sign?
8. JaMarcus Russell
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When JaMarcus Russell was drafted first overall in 2007, expectations were sky high. This was a kid with all the physical gifts, who led LSU to a 20-3 record as a starter.
Scouts were wowed when he launched a ball sixty yards from his knees, and didn’t even care that this was a completely irrelevant football skill.
Russell eventually signed a contract worth a whopping $61 million including $32 million guaranteed, but struggled to a career 65.2 passer rating and 7-18 record. Russell tossed only three touchdowns to 11 interceptions in 2009 before being benched and was released in the off-season.
The Raiders saved $6.45 million by cutting Russell for the 2010 season, but still owe the 6’6 quarterback $3 million this season.
By getting cut after only three seasons in the NFL, Russell became the quickest number one overall pick to be released other than Steve Emtman in 1992 (which was mainly due to a litany of injuries rather than production).
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7. Brad Childress
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Although the sentiment around Childress is overwhelmingly negative now, that was not the case just a year ago. After getting the Vikings off to an 8-1 start, owner Zygi Wilf signed Childress to a three year contract extension rumored to be valued at between $4 and 5 million annually.
In fact Wilf said about Childress, “Brad has done a tremendous job leading this football team and we value the positive environment he has created for the Minnesota Vikings on and off the field."
A year later Childress was fired after his talented Vikings team managed only 3-7 record and his relationship with Brett Favre and other players rapidly deteriorated.
Still, Childress had two and a half years left on his contact and could seek a large buy-out from his former team.
6. Eric Byrnes
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I’ll start this by quickly saying that I loathe Eric Byrnes.
For starters, he appears to be a clear cut example of a juicer based on his anomaly 2007 season (.286 average vs. .258 career, 21 homers and 50 steals vs. 79 in his ten other MLB seasons combined).
Secondly, he pulled an all-time d-bag move when he shoved Jason Varitek in a 2003 game between the A’s and the Red Sox. Varitek was blocking the plate when he legally tripped up the speedy Byrnes. Unfortunately, the ball was still on the ground and instead of touching home, Byrnes shoved the catcher and began walking towards the dugout before being tagged out.
To make things worse, Byrnes was given a ludicrous three year, $30 million contract by the Arizona Diamondbacks. After hitting 47 home runs the previous two seasons, Byrnes hit only fourteen over the next two years and was eventually cut with one season remaining on his contract for $11 million.
Making things even more interesting, Byrnes signed with the Mariners and collected two paychecks before being cut less than a month into the season. A mediocre player getting paid $11 million not to play -- you don’t see that every day.
5. Kenyon Martin
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We’ve known for a long time that Kenyon Martin was injury prone. Even before being drafted number one overall by the Nets, he missed the NCAA tournament his final season at Cincinnati after suffering a broken leg in the Conference USA tourney.
Upon entering the league, Martin established himself as one of the league’s most exciting big men with a series of thunderous dunks and momentum swinging stuffs. In 2004, the Nets worked out a sign and trade with the Nuggets and Martin inked a seven year deal worth $90 million.
His first season Martin posted respectable (but still somewhat disappointing given his salary) numbers of 15.5 points and 7.3 rebounds per game. Martin played only 52 games the next season and 2 games the following year. This season K-Mart has yet to play a single game and will likely miss at least the first three months of the season. His reward? How about one of the league’s highest salaries at over $15 million?
This is a man who is angry at Denver for not offering a contract extension despite the fact that he’s injured, hasn’t played a game, and never lived up to the lucrative contract (or even the draft picks it took to acquire him). It’s a prime example of why many fans despise the modern game and it’s C.R.E.A.M core values.
4. Mike Shanahan
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If you thought the Broncos lost a lot of money when they fired Josh McDaniels, just wait to you read the details of Mike Shanahan’s firing. The Super Bowl winning coach still had 3 years and $20 million left on his contract when he was released of his duties.
That means this season alone the Bronco’s are paying three different head coaches a salary of nearly ten million dollars combined! It also helps that the Redskins offset some of the Bronco’s costs when they signed Shanahan to a five year contract worth an eye-popping $35 million.
The thing is, Shanny didn’t even need to take the Skins offer, the Bronco’s were willing to pay their former coach seven million dollars a year as long as he was willing to stay quiet and not take another coaching gig. You’ve got to respect a man who is willing to go out and earn his pay rather than just sit on his duff and collect free money.
3. Michael Redd
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During the 2004-2005 season, Redd established himself as one of the league’s premier shooters. The 6’6 lefty scored 23 points per game in his contract season and earned himself a staggering (and baffling) six year deal worth $91 million.
The season following this lucrative extension, Redd earned his money to the best of his ability by logging a league-leading 39 minutes per game while scoring 25.4 per game. Then the injuries started coming. Redd played only 53 games the following season and in January of 2009, Redd tore his ACL and MCL in his left knee.
A year later after making a brief comeback, the former Buckeye re-tore his ACL and MCL, ending his season and -- in all likelihood – his career.
Redd has played only 51 games over the last three seasons and will not touch the court once this season, yet he will have made $47 million over that time (including $18 million this year which puts him directly between Tim Duncan and Pau Gasol for fifth highest in the NBA).
Always a one dimensional player, Redd never deserved a contract of this magnitude. His injury? Just the icing on the cake.
2. Eddy Curry
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On October 3, 2005 the Knicks future may have been permanently altered. After refusing to take a DNA test to examine whether Eddy Curry had a congenital heart defect, he was dealt from Chicago to New York for a package of miscellaneous garbage and draft picks.
Undeterred by this possible fatal shortcoming, the Knicks doled out a $60 million contract to the seven foot blimp of a center with an inability to rebound, play defense or excel at any other aspect of the game for that matter.
The one-dimensional post scorer was nearly in all-star during the 2006-2007 season with averages of 19 and 7, but was soon relegated to bench duties. Over the last three seasons Curry has played a grand total of ten games, earning nearly $30 million in the process.
This season Curry’s value stems from his expiring contract that the Knicks could use in a potential blockbuster trade (like for Carmelo Anthony perhaps).
This is the man whose ineptitude stemmed it’s own statistic for Christ sake! (By the way for those who aren’t in the know, the Eddy Curry line is the ratio of assists plus blocks plus steals divided by turnovers. Eddy Curry was the first player who had a sub-one ratio and thus was enshrined as the namesake.) An epic bust in every sense, Curry deserves a spot on this list.
1. Charlie Weis
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After winning three Super Bowls in his four seasons as the Patriots offensive coordinator, Weis was a hot commodity. Many teams were interested in obtaining the big fella’s services, but for Weis the opportunity to lead a prestigious university like Notre Dame was too great to pass up.
Weis agreed to a six-year deal worth $2 million annually, and immediately yielded results. After going 6-5 the previous year under head coach Tyrone Willingham, Weis led the Fighting Irish to a 9-2 record and a BCS birth in the Fiesta Bowl.
The following season after Notre Dame jumped out to a 5-2 record, the Irish were desperate to retain Weis’ services and re-signed the coach to a ten-year deal that was reportedly worth $30-40 million.
Weis led Notre Dame to a 4-1 record the rest of the season including a 41-14 loss in the Sugar Bowl. The next year things started to get ugly. Notre Dame struggled to a 3-9 mark behind true freshman quarterback Jimmy Claussen. The next year the Irish jumped out to a 4-1 mark, but ultimately settled for a 6-6 season.
2009 would prove to be Weis last season in South Bend as his 6-6 mark was deemed unacceptable and the head coach was fired and replaced by Cincinnati’s Brian Kelly. That meant that Weis still had seven years and between $21 and 28 million remaining on his contract, making his contract one of the worst in sports history.
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