Lots of people think that professional athletes are overpaid. Their salaries may be higher than yours and mine but many of them are worth their salaries due to their stellar play. While quarterbacks like Philip Rivers, Eli Manning, and Michael Vick have lit up NFL scoreboards, there are other quarterbacks whose performance has been well below par. Let’s take a look at 5 NFL quarterbacks whose teams would not be out of line to ask for a refund based on their quarterback’s crummy play.
Carson Palmer
Carson Palmer used to be one of the best quarterbacks in the National Football League back in 2005 when he signed a 6 year contract extension worth $118.5 million dollar contract. The extension increased Palmer’s total contract length to 9 years. Since 2007 Palmer has been a shell of the All Pro quarterback that he used to be. With the NFL labor agreement ending at the end of this season, the Bengals may consider parting ways with their former star QB. Head coach Marvin Lewis will likely be sacked when the season is over and a new coach will want to bring in his own QB.
The Bengals could save a lot of money by either trading Palmer or restructuring his contract at the end of the season. I doubt that the team would release Palmer outright but the team has to be considering alternatives since the Bengals still owe Palmer at least $50 million dollars over the next 4 years. Palmer is owed $11.5 million dollars in 2011, $11.5 million dollars in 2012, $13 million in 2013, and $14 million in 2014.
This is a team in disarray that needs to rebuild and it is clear that Palmer is not the future of the Bengals. His play has been average at best and he has singlehandedly lost numerous games for his teams. This is a problem considering that his contract is in the same class as Peyton Manning, Eli Manning, and Tom Brady. His play however has been another story.
Brett Favre
Favre made the list because he is the most overpaid quarterback in the NFL. The Vikings paid him $20 million dollars in the offseason to come back and lead the team to the promised land. The whole experiment has been one colossal failure. The Vikings are 3-6 and going nowhere fast. He has more interceptions than touchdowns and has returned to the form of the gunslinger that was discarded by Green Bay a few seasons ago. He leads the league with 16 interceptions.
Many people are speculating that this season may be Favre’s last. He has cried wolf far too many times to take him at his word that he will actually retire. If he does retire then I will drop off this list. Until then Favre needs to play up to the level of his contract. If he comes back for another run then he will need to take a substantial paycut based on his poor play this season.
Alex Smith
Mr. Smith has never lived up to the hype that followed him as the number 1 pick out of the University of Utah. He has been plagued by injury issues and has struggled to live up to the high expectations that followed him from college. Smith’s career in San Francisco has been forgettable with him throwing just 46 TD’s and 52 INT’s. Smith restructured his contract in 2009 so that the team would only have to pay him $4 million dollars per year plus his base salary.
Since that time, Smith has lost his job to another quarterback, Troy Smith. Alex Smith’s contract is up at the end of the season and it’s unlikely that the 49ers will bring him back as a starter. Smith will likely have to settle for a backup job in San Francisco for less money.
Derek Anderson
After watching Matt Leinart, Derek Alexander, and Max Hall play quarterback, it is obvious that the Arizona Cardinals really miss Kurt Warner. A team that is loaded with receiving threats struggles mightily just to get a first down. Derek Anderson was projected to be the starter after signing a 2 year contract with Arizona back in 2008. The contract had a minimum was worth a minimum of $7.25 million dollars and is valued at over $18 million dollars with incentives.
Anderson won the starting job by default but will likely be looking for work after this season. His play has been absolutely horrible this season. Anderson is the 32nd ranked quarterback in the NFL in QB rating. He has thrown more interceptions than touchdowns this season and has turned an explosive offense into a feeble attach.
Donovan McNabb
McNabb is making $14.7 million dollars in salary this year. This happens to be coming during the worst statistical year for McNabb since his rookie season. The Redskins veteran quarterback was benched three weeks ago and has thrown just 9 touchdowns on the season compared with 11 interceptions.
The last 7 games of this season are the most important of McNabb’s career. McNabb’s recently signed $78 million dollar contract is really just a guaranteed seven game audition for the rest of the season. He has few guarantees in his contract for next season. The Redskins can cut the veteran signal caller and will only be on the hook for $3.5 million dollars. If he plays poorly, he will find that there are not many teams lining up to throw $15 million dollars a year at an aging quarterback.
Five Quarterbacks That Will Take A Huge Paycut Next Year is a post from:
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