10-Worst contracts in the NFL ahead of the 2025 season

https://bleacherreport.com/articles/25204590-ranking-10-worst-contracts-nfl-ahead-2025-season

Contract Terms: five years, $230 million, fully guaranteed

No one should be surprised by our No. 1 entry. In terms of annual value, Deshaun Watson's $46-million-per-year pact isn't outlandish for a quality starter—it ranks below players like Brock Purdy and Kyler Murray. The problem is that after trading for Watson in 2022, the Cleveland Browns gave him a fully guaranteed deal.

Now, Cleveland is not the first team to hand out a fully guaranteed contract to a quarterback. Kirk Cousins got a fully guaranteed three-year deal when he signed with the Minnesota Vikings back in 2018.

What made this fully guaranteed deal bad is the fact that Watson had just held out the entire 2021 season and faced 24 lawsuits from women accusing him of sexual assault or misconduct—he ultimately served an 11-game suspension in 2022.

Though Watson was a three-time Pro Bowler with the Houston Texans, trading for him was always a risk, one that cost Cleveland a massive package that included three first-round picks. Extending him on a fully guaranteed deal was a flat-out mistake.

With the Browns, Watson has struggled to stay on the field—he suffered two Achilles tears over the past calendar year—has played poorly when he's been healthy and hasn't shown the leadership or even the body language of someone who cares. He's looked a lot more like someone who has gotten his payday and is now going through the motions.

Things have been so bad that the Browns have essentially given up on Watson with two years remaining on his contract.

"We took a big swing and miss with Deshaun," franchise owner Jimmy Haslam said, per Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com.

Barring a massive surprise, Cleveland is set to pay out another $167.1 million for Watson to quietly go away. This isn't just the worst active contract in the NFL—it might be the worst deal in league history.