What is the worst contract in the NFL? With NFL revenue skyrocketing and the salary cap following suit, salaries for players at nearly every position have exploded. Plenty of deals work out but it’s also not hard to find some of the worst NFL contracts that continue to look bad as time goes on.
It should come as no surprise that the Deshaun Watson contract is the worst in the NFL. Many around the league were critical of the Cleveland Browns for doing it back in 2022. Two years later, the deal looks even worse. While no other contract is on that level, there are quite a few pacts around the NFL that won’t work out for the team.
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Here are the 10 worst NFL contracts in 2024.
Deshaun Watson, QB, Cleveland Browns – 5 years, $230 million (fully guaranteed)
Desperation convinced the Cleveland Browns that putting more than two dozen accusations of sexual misconduct against Deshaun Watson was not only worth it but that the quarterback deserved the first contract with more than $200 million guaranteed. In two seasons as the Browns starting quarterback, when he could be on the field, Watson had a worse QB rating (81.7) than Baker Mayfield (88.8) and Jacoby Brissett (92.6). What makes this so much worse for Cleveland is that restructuring the deal to create more cap room in 2024 means there will be an even bigger price to pay in the years to come
- Deshaun Watson contract: $63.774 million cap hit in 2024, $63.977 million cap hit in 2025, $63.977 million cap hit in 2025, $8.984 million void money in 2027
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Von Miller, EDGE, Buffalo Bills- 6 years, $120 million
The Buffalo Bills wanted to make a splash before the 2022 NFL season, an all-in move to help get over the hump to win the Lombardi Trophy. So, they signed edge rusher Von Miller to a six-year, $120 million contract. Buffalo was banking on instant production, needing it before Miller got into his mid-30s and Father Time caught up to him. He netted 8 sacks in 11 games in his first year, but an ACL tear ended his age-33 campaign and he was so bad in his first year back that Buffalo had to bench him. He might have a little gas left in the tank as a 35-year-old, but the Bills have gotten very little out of a deal that looked bad at the time and is even worse in hindsight.
- Von Miller contract: $15.154 million cap hit in 2024
- 2025 Pre-June 1 release: $15.417 million dead cap, $8.457 million cap savings
- 2025 Post-June 1 release: $6.374 million dead cap hit (’25), $9.043 million dead cap (’26), $17.5 million cap savings
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Derek Carr, QB, New Orleans Saints- 4 years, $150 million
No NFL franchise loves getting itself into the depths of salary-cap hell and then clawing its way back into compliance like the New Orleans Saints. Well over the 2024 NFL salary cap entering the offseason, New Orleans restructured the Derek Carr contract to create $24 million in immediate cap relief. Unfortunately, that means this franchise is stuck with a quarterback whose heavy reliance on dumping passes off and playing like a game-managing backup easily makes this one of the worst NFL contracts right now. Of course, New Orleans will renegotiate the deal again in 2025 for cap relief
- Derek Carr contract: $12.668 million cap hit in 2024, $51.458 million cap hit in 2025, $61.458 million cap hit in 2026
- 2026 Pre-June 1 release: $32.784 million cap savings, $28.674 million dead cap
- 2026 Post-June 1 release: $50 million cap savings, $11.458 million dead cap
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Dak Prescott, QB, Dallas Cowboys – 4 years, $160 million
The Dak Prescott contract lands on this list for a specific reason. It’s not because of his average annual salary, a price that is a bargain compared to the deal Jared Goff just signed. However, what makes this one of the worst NFL contracts is how the Dallas Cowboys made it impossible to have any leverage in contract extension talks. The last time around, Dallas used consecutive franchise tags on Prescott and gave him the power in negotiations. Now, under his current deal, he can’t be tagged in 2025. Meanwhile, the Cowboys front office isn’t even using this summer to try and negotiate a long-term deal with their franchise quarterback.
So, come 2025, Prescott can use offers other teams leak to his agent as added leverage in negotiations with the Cowboys. Dallas will likely be left choosing between making Prescott the first $60 million quarterback ever or letting him walk and carrying a $4046 million dead cap charge in 2025. That’s why this is one of the worst NFL contracts right now.
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Daniel Jones, QB, New York Giants – 4 years, $160 million
We’ll start with this, the Daniel Jones contract isn’t nearly as bad as some of the others on this list. While committing nearly $48 million in cap space to, at best top-20 quarterback, is wasteful there aren’t huge long-term cap penalties with this deal. However, the Giants are at risk of landing in a tight spot. If Jones suffers a significant injury during the 2024 season, it would guarantee $23 million of his 2025 salary. The injury risk and the 2024 cap hit make this a bad deal, especially because re-signing Saquon Barkley in 2023 was a better option, but this contract could’ve been much worse.
- Daniel Jones contract: $47.855 million cap hit in 2024, $41.605 million cap hit in 2025, 458.605 million cap hit in 2026
- 2025 Pre-June 1 cut: $19.395 million cap savings, $22.21 million dead cap
- 2025 Post-June 1 cut: $30.5 million cap savings, $11.105 million dead cap
Taysom Hill, TE, New Orleans Saints – 4 years, $40 million
We’ve just never understood the New Orleans Saints’ fascination with Taysom Hill. The so-called ‘quarterback’ Sean Payton once compared to Steve Young and even now Dennis Allen is talking about in press conferences, Hill is also overpaid. He carries a $15.789 million cap hit in 2024, as a 34-year-old, making him one of the highest-paid tight ends in football this year and next ($15.789 million). New Orleans is getting approximately 650-plus scrimmage yards for that price and that’s even assuming Father Time doesn’t start sapping some athleticism.
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JuJu Smith-Schuster, WR, New England Patriots – 3 years, $25.5 million
The JuJu Smith-Schuster contract isn’t as expensive as others on this list, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t an awful deal for the New England Patriots. There were reports in early September 2023 that Smith-Schuster’s knee was a mess, still dealing with persistent issues stemming from the 2022 season. There’s a reason the Kansas City Chiefs weren’t matching the Patriots’ offer. Even a $7 million base salary and $10.28 million cap hit in 2024, plus the $2.633 million in dead money next year when he’s released, is an overpay for the sixth wide receiver on the Patriots’ depth chart.
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Miles Sanders, RB, Carolina Panthers – 4 years, $25.4 million
What makes the Miles Sanders contract so bad is the fact he might be the fourth-string running back in 2024. Chuba Hubbard easily outproduced him last season in the same environment and we know Jonathon Brooks is going to see a lot more work than Sanders. Quite frankly, Rashaad Penny might even see touches before Sanders does. Meanwhile, Sanders carries a $7.695 million cap hit in 2024 and will have made over $14 million in two years with the Panthers by the time he becomes a salary cap casualty in 2025.
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Joey Bosa, EDGE, Los Angeles Chargers – 5 years, $135 million
The thought process behind signing Joey Bosa to a five-year, $135 million contract extension was sound by the Los Angeles Chargers. At the time, he had 82 QB hits and 40 sacks in his first four seasons. While he only played 7 games in 2018, he appeared in al 16 the following year. Sadly for Los Angeles, staying on the field has been a big problem for Bosa ever since. He’s played 16 games just once (2021, 10.5 sacks) and that was his only year with double-digit sacks. In the last two seasons, he has 14 QB hits and 9 sacks combined in 14 games. The contract hasn’t worked out, but Los Angeles can get out of it in 2025.
- Joey Bosa contract: $26.111 million cap hit in 2024
- 2025 release: $25.36 million cap savings, $11.111 million dead cap hit
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Kirk Cousins, QB, Atlanta Falcons – 4 years, $180 million
The process is the reason why this is one of the worst NFL contracts right now. Given the Atlanta Falcons’ quarterback desperation, we were willing to look past the fact that the team gave a quarterback coming off an Achilles tear $100 million guaranteed heading into his age-36 season. What you can’t do as an organization is make that kind of commitment and then use a top-10 pick on Michael Penix Jr. If Atlanta cares that much about the future, then it never should’ve signed Cousins in the first place.
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