A Look at The Worst Contracts in Sports

01/05/2023 A Look at The Worst Contracts in Sports

By: Matthew Cahill

While many of us feel that we are underpaid for our work, athletes are one of the few exceptions where a decline in production is oftentimes hard to predict, leaving teams paying for much more than what they get in return on the court or field. Here are three of the worst contracts in American sports.  

 

Russell Wilson: 5 years, $242,588,236

After making five straight Pro Bowl appearances, the Broncos went all in and traded for Russell Wilson prior to the season and immediately locked him up with a long-term deal to make him their quarterback of the future. Ever since touching down in Denver, Russ has been a disaster, throwing for a career-low 13 touchdowns and 60.8 completion %, resulting in just a 4-12 record thus far. The clear signs of regression are alarming enough, but what’s even worse for the Broncos is that they are stuck with Wilson until 2028 when he will be 41 years old. It’s been bad enough already, but things will likely get a whole lot worse in the coming years. 

 

Russell Westbrook: 5 years, $206,794,070

While shelling out this kind of money seemed like a no-brainer back when Russell Westbrook was consistently averaging a triple-double for the Oklahoma City Thunder, his fall from grace makes this the worst contract in basketball. Since signing the deal, Westbrook has been traded to three different teams and is now coming off the bench for the Los Angeles Lakers, where the front office has repeatedly tried to move him but aren’t able to because his level of production nowadays is nowhere near worth $47 million a year. Not being able to move him has left the Lakers with a depleted roster overall and has resulted in the team wasting what is very likely the final prime years of LeBron James with a team that likely won’t make the playoffs. As a free agent this coming offseason, it’ll be fascinating to see what type of deal he can get on the open market. 

 

Christian Yelich: 7 years, $188,500,000

Through his age-27 season, Christian Yelich already had an NL MVP under his belt and won the batting title twice. This prompted the Milwaukee Brewers to throw a seven-year deal his way to make him their franchise cornerstone. Since then, he has had a fall from grace, batting just a modest .243 while losing the pop in his bat, hitting just 35 home runs in the last three seasons. While these numbers aren’t horrible, they definitely aren’t what the Brewers envisioned from him after shelling out a $188 million deal. The worst part? Milwaukee is a small market team, and his contract is putting a stranglehold on the financially-limited Brewers front office. 

 

Photo: Timothy T Ludwig / Getty Images