The NFL provides a means for the world’s best football players to cash in for their skill sets and get paid big bucks.
Some players fly in under the radar and receive deals that may not be on par with their production on the field. Others, however, receive exorbitant amounts of money due to having one or two good seasons or playing in a system that helped boost their stats.
Here are five NFL players that, we believe, are the most overpaid heading into the 2015 season.
Vincent Jackson (wide receiver, Tampa Bay Buccaneers)
(2015 cap hit: $12.2 million)
Vincent Jackson is coming off his worst season, production-wise, since 2007. At 32 years of age, he’s not getting much separation from opposing defensive backs. He can still use his height (6’5″) to go up and haul in the football, but is no longer the big-play receiver he once was.
Mike Evans will be the Bucs No. 1 receiver in the future and will, at some point, unseat Jackson as the team’s go-to guy this season. Evans saw less targets (143-124) last year, yet still finished with more receiving yards (1,051-1,002) and touchdowns (12-2).
The Bucs are paying Jackson over $12 million to move the chains on third downs and pick up yards here and there in the middle of the field. He hauled in only two touchdowns last season, and that certainly is not reminiscent of a No.1 receiver.
Jay Cutler (quarterback, Chicago Bears)
(2015 cap hit: $16.5 million)
This one was a no-brainer. For nearly every big play Cutler makes, he commits a gaffe and often gives the football back to the opposing team. That makes things tough for the Bears’ defense, which spent a lot of time on the field in 2014.
Cutler tossed 28 touchdowns last season, but he also turned the football over 27 times (18 INTs, 9 fumbles). He averaged only 6.80 yards per attempt, which is pretty poor for a strong-armed quarterback who loves to take chances throwing downfield.
Cutler is entering a make-or-break season in Chicago. With former general manager Phil Emery and ex-head coach Marc Trestman out, the new regime will likely have a short leash for the 32-year-old quarterback.
If Cutler continues to force throws into coverage, he’ll likely be playing for a new team in 2016. If he can help the Bears win the NFC North—which 32Red has currently listed at 16/1 odds, while Bookmaker has them at 17/1—he may be able to save his job.
Either way, right now, he’s really just a serviceable, mediocre quarterback, but he’s not being paid like one. And during the course of his career, especially in games that have mattered when the pressure was on, we’ve learned that Cutler will find a way to blow a game—sometimes during its most critical moment.
Look at it this way: Aaron Rodgers is set to make $18.3 million, Peyton Manning will make $17.5 million and Philip Rivers is set to make $17.4 million this season. All three are considerably better and more consistent than Cutler, and they made sure to restructure their deals/take less money for the good of the team so money could be spent elsewhere.
Julius Thomas (tight end, Jacksonville Jaguars)
(2015 cap hit: $10.3 million)
If you allocate over $10 million in cap room for a tight end who can’t pass block well (which limits the number of snaps he can play), you’re doing it wrong. That’s a lot of money for a one-dimensional player who was playing in a system anchored/run by one of the greatest NFL quarterbacks of all-time.
Not only does Julius Thomas struggle in pass blocking, but he also has issues staying on the field. He’s already missed 28 games during his career thus far, and his work ethic has been called into question in the past. Landing in Jacksonville to catch passes from Blake Bortles probably won’t help him want to be on the field any more than when he was playing alongside Peyton Manning, either.
When a tight end gets paid like a wide receiver, it speaks volumes about that franchise.
Jonathan Stewart (running back, Carolina Panthers)
(2015 cap hit: $8.3 million)
Someone needs to tell the Carolina Panthers that you don’t pay running backs big bucks. They clearly never learned after forking over a ton of cash to DeAngelo Williams, yet they made the same mistake with Stewart when they signed him to a five-year, $36.5 million deal a few years back.
The running back position has long been devalued, but the Panthers don’t see it that way. Instead, they elected to pay Stewart.
When you look at Stewart’s production over the last three seasons, though, it’s clear that he’s nothing more than a third-down back. He’s racked up just 1,325 yards over the past three seasons, and has rushed for just four touchdowns.
The oft-injured running back is now 28 years old, and is vastly overpaid.
Mike Wallace (wide receiver, Minnesota Vikings)
(2015 cap hit: $9.9 million)
Let’s be honest: Mike Wallace was never really good at running routes and has always been more of a freestyler. He had a lot of chemistry with Ben Roethlisberger, who seemed to always know where he would be downfield. It’s been downhill since he left Steel City, though.
Wallace hasn’t recorded a 1,000-yard season since 2011, and he’s not the same receiver who made a habit of stretching opposing defenses to keep them honest.
When Wallace signed a five-year, $60 million deal with the Dolphins, he was the second-highest paid receiver in the league. He’s now in Minnesota, which, for him, is a pretty poor fit. Maybe that’s why CBS Local Sports’ Ross Kelly recently stated that Wallace is the second-most overpaid receiver in the NFL.
Teddy Bridgewater doesn’t have a strong arm and struggles throwing downfield. The Vikings field a run-first offense, and the possibility of Wallace rebounding and reemerging as the dominant receiver he once was looks to be slim. The Vikings’ decision to trade for Wallace is a puzzling one.
All contract figures courtesy of Spotrac.