Philadelphia Eagles' DeSean Jackson Is Having the Worst Contract Year Ever

Before the season began, most Eagles fans were clamoring for the team to re-sign DeSean Jackson, rewarding their top playmaker as a cornerstone of their dynamic offense.

After 12 games, Jackson has hardly proven himself to be a cornerstone. Jackson has become nothing more than giant impediment toward success—Andy Reid's personal Sisyphean boulder.

Look, the 4-8 record is not just Jackson's fault. The Eagles defense is atrocious, their offensive line is constantly overmatched and their quarterback can't stay healthy. The only positive thing the Eagles have going for them this year is the play of LeSean McCoy.

LeSean is the team's best playmaker now, not DeSean.

Most teams don't want their top players going into a contract year without a new deal because players almost always seem to play their best when the most is (personally) at stake.

If a player has a career-year in his last season under contract, the likelihood that he'll test the free-agent waters is much higher.

No team likes losing its best players, and certainly no team likes having to re-sign its best players for more money because it's competing with the free-agent market.

Yet each week that goes by, it sure looks like the Eagles did the right thing in waiting to re-sign Jackson.

Jackson is having the worst contract year ever, hyperbole be damned.

In 12 weeks, the diminutive receiver has gone from one of the best playmakers in the league to a liability on and off the field.

Last season, Jackson was 12th in the NFL in receiving yards with 1,056 and was one of just two receivers in the league with more than 20 catches to average over 20 yards per reception.

In his three-year career heading into 2011, Jackson had proven to be a dynamic player on the field, willing to take big hits to make big plays.

This season, however, Jackson seems afraid to take a big hit, perhaps because of his past issues with head injuries and perhaps because he knows he's playing the rest of the season without safety net.

Rather than going onto the field to prove he's one of the elite players in the game, Jackson seems far more concerned about his future, relying on his performance in the past instead of worrying about his play in the present.

The fact is, Jackson's numbers aren't terrible this year. He's on pace for just under 1,000 yards receiving and does have one of the better per-catch averages in the league (16.2 yards per reception).

But his two receiving touchdowns are tied for 72nd in the league and 16 receivers—including three tight ends—have more receptions of 20-plus yards.

Sadly, Jackson's issues aren't even on the field—he's screwing up things he can control.

Watch the above video to understand Jackson's real problem this season.

He's a diva.

Jackson has always been a lot for the Eagles to handle—he had that reputation before they drafted him—but this season has been far worse than most people anticipated.

Jackson didn't report to camp after the lockout ended because of his contract demands. From the time he eventually showed up—through the preseason and 12 games of the regular season—Jackson's situation has constantly been a distraction for the Eagles.

Since the Eagles bye week, Jackson has just 19 catches in six games. It doesn't help, of course, that Jackson was deactivated for one of those games after sleeping through a team meeting and was benched for much of another game after dropping two passes that certainly could have been touchdowns.

Now, not only has Jackson shown that his teammates can't count on him on the field, he's not even smart enough to act like a team player when the cameras are on in the locker room.

It's one thing to ignore your quarterback on the sidelines, but when you get called out for it by the media, admit what you did and show you understand that the game is bigger than you.

Jackson has gone from a five-tool, can't-miss talent to a home run hitter with a bad attitude.

By the looks of it, he is playing his last few weeks in Philadelphia.

It will be interesting, after the way he's played (and acted) this season, which teams will be desperate enough to start pushing that boulder up the hill.