Some of the greatest names in the NFL are presently shopping their services to new teams as free agency heats up in the league. Already, some of the game’s biggest names have signed with new teams, and plenty of cash has changed hands on the open market.
Some of these transactions will undoubtedly go bad and become far less attractive than they presently seem. As an illustration, consider the events of the day before Monday’s official start of the tampering window. Former Patriots tight end Jonnu Smith was traded to the Atlanta Falcons for a seventh-round draft selection.
Two years before the trade, New England signed Smith to a four-year, $50 million contract that ultimately proved to be one of the worst free agency missteps of Bill Belichick’s career. In light of this, CBS Sports go back over the past years and discuss the worst free agency transactions.
Antonio Brown (Patriots, 2019)
While Sam Bradford had a successful NFL career, his short time with the Arizona Cardinals in 2018 may have yielded his easiest financial rewards yet. Bradford signed a two-year, $20 million deal with the club in March of that offseason, with $15 million guaranteed.
A month later, the club selected Josh Rosen, a quarterback from UCLA, with the 10th overall pick. As a result, after the first three games of the season, Rosen became the starting quarterback, and on November 3 of that year, Arizona decided to release Bradford. So, Bradford was paid $15.9 million by the Cardinals despite just starting three games.
Le’Veon Bell (Jets, 2019)
Le’Veon Bell avoided the Steelers by sitting out the whole 2018 season, and he was finally able to sign with any team in 2019. Eventually, Bell settled for $42 million over four years with the New York Jets, money he would never earn.
Over the course of two years, Bell would suit up for 17 games with the Jets until being released in the middle of October 2020. Bell never had a game with 100 yards running with the Jets while being paid $28 million and only scoring four times.
Sam Bradford (Cardinals, 2018)
While Sam Bradford had a successful NFL career, his short time with the Arizona Cardinals in 2018 may have yielded his easiest financial rewards yet. Bradford signed a two-year, $20 million deal with the club in March of that offseason, with $15 million guaranteed.
A month later, the club selected Josh Rosen, a quarterback from UCLA, with the 10th overall pick. As a result, after the first three games of the season, Rosen became the starting quarterback, and on November 3 of that year, Arizona decided to release Bradford. So, Bradford was paid $15.9 million by the Cardinals despite just starting three games.
Earl Thomas (Ravens, 2019)
Earl Thomas III played for Seattle for several years and then signed as a free agent with the Baltimore Ravens in 2019. When he signed with the Ravens, his four-year, $55 million deal was the largest ever given to a defensive player in the team’s history.
The payoff for their efforts was mediocre. When Thomas got into a fight with teammate safety Chuck Clark during training the following August, he was released. Hence, after spending $23.5 million over 17 months on Thomas, the team only received 15 games’ worth of action.
