Anyone with half a brain knew the Chiefs would be extending Patrick Mahomes sooner rather than later, and we also knew it would likely be a record-setting contract. Dak Prescott was even counting on it. What we didn’t expect was the length of the contract, as last night Mahomes signed a whopping ten-year extension worth over 500 million dollars in incentives, keeping him in Kansas City for the next twelve years. So presumably by the time he’s played out this contract, I’ll be 40 years old and Blue Collar Media Group will be the single largest multi-media entity in the world. Of course, the people of Kansas City are beyond ecstatic envisioning another twelve years with Mahomes at the helm and I can’t blame them, it is worth noting that nobody has ever played out an entire 10-year deal in the NFL. More often than not, long term deals do not always play out as planned in the NFL. Now I’m not saying this won’t pan out for the Chiefs, but I did think it would be fun to look back at some of the long term contracts in NFL history that went maybe a little less than ideal.
10. Stephen Davis: 9 year deal in 2000
Leave it to the Redskins to sign a running back for a nine-year deal. Heading into the 2000 season they signed Davis to nine years 90 million, worth up to 140 million. But with only 6.5 million guaranteed, Davis was released by Washington in 2002.
9. Brett Favre: 10 year deal in 2001
In 2001 with three years remaining on the seven-year contract he’d signed in 1997, the Packers signed Brett Favre to a ten-year extension worth 100 million dollars. A whole emotional press conference was held saying the contract would make Favre a “Packer for life” and Favre himself declared he‘d “retire before playing for anyone else”. Favre was out the door in 2007 and went on to play for the Jets and the Vikings.
8. Troy Aikman: 9 year deal in 1999
In 1999 the Cowboys did what the Cowboys do and handed Aikman one of the largest extensions in history at the time, 9 years worth 85.5 million dollars. In 2001 they cut Aikman before the guarantees kicked in and he retired from the NFL.
7. Carson Palmer: 9 year deal in 2005
The Bengals selected Carson Palmer first overall in the 2003 draft. In 2004 they went 11-5 with Palmer throwing for 3836 yards and 32 touchdowns, very good numbers for the time. In 2005 they signed him to a nine-year extension worth 119 million dollars. Afterward, the Bengals struggled to finish seasons above .500 and Palmer was playing for the Raiders in 2010.
6. Donovan Mcnabb: 12 year deal in 2002
With his career off to a hot start, the Eagles signed Donovan Mcnabb to a 12-year extension worth 115 million dollars in 2002. While Mcnabb did string together several more good years, including a Super Bowl appearance in 2004, by 2009 they had to restructure and in 2010 Mcnabb was playing for the Washington Redskins
5. Daunte Culpepper: 10 year deal in 2003
Culpepper had all the makings of a star early in his career, and in 2003 the Vikings made him the third highest-paid player in history With a 10-year contract worth 102 million dollars. Culpepper followed that up in 2004 by throwing for 4717 yards and 39 touchdowns to just 7 interceptions, which is again insane for that time period. After that Culpepper struggled to stay on the field and his playing career ended in 2009.
4. Michael Vick: 10 year deal in 2004
Michael Vick was one of the most electrifying players we’ve ever seen in the early 2000s and a literal cheat code in Madden. Because of this, the Falcons signed him to a 10 year deal worth 130 million dollars in 2004. Vick was named to his third Pro Bowl in 2005 and in 2006 set the single-season rushing record for a quarterback. In 2007 Vick was arrested and imprisoned on dogfighting charges.
3. Jay Cutler: 7 year deal in 2014
In 2014 the Chicago Bears were apparently convinced Jay Cutler was their guy. Either that or he had dirt on the GM and they had to pay him to keep him quiet. Either way in 2014 the Bears signed Cutler to a 7-year deal worth 126 million dollars. Cutler only lasted in the Windy City through 2016 and is now a reality TV star. Since then Chicago has passed on Mahomes to draft Mitchell Trubisky because they’re apparently not great at this quarterback evaluation thing.
2. Drew Bledsoe 10 year deal in 2001
The first jersey I ever owned and one that still proudly hangs in my closet, Drew Bledsoe was THE MAN in Foxboro following his success in the mid to late nineties, and people forget how good he really was in his day. Heading into the 2001 season, the Patriots signed Bledsoe to a ten-year deal worth 103 million dollars, making him at the time the highest-paid man in NFL history. The deal supposedly “virtually guaranteed he would spend his entire career with the New England Patriots“. 2 games into the 2001 season, Bledsoe was knocked out on the sidelines by the Jets Mo Lewis and some kid named Tom Brady took over. In 2002 Drew Bledsoe was playing for the Buffalo Bills.
1.Albert Fucking Haynesworth
For a couple of years Albert Haynesworth was considered by many to be the most dominant defensive tackle in the NFL, and rightfully so. Heading into the 2009 season, Dan Snyder threw all the money he could at him signing Haynesworth to a 7-year deal worth 100 million dollars, with 41 million guaranteed, a 5 million dollar signing bonus, and the first two years of his salary fully guaranteed. Haynesworth almost immediately responded by refusing to show up to offseason workouts, and then finally showing up unable to pass a basic fitness test. In 2010 head coach Mike Shanahan suspended Haynesworth for the entire season, and in 2011 he was traded to the Patriots for a fifth-round draft pick. However, he only lasted four months in New England.
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