In the NFL, respect is earned, but players truly feel the love when the compensation starts flowing. The average NFL career length is 3.5 years, but those who can make it further can potentially procure generational wealth. However, things can sometimes go south in the NFL after guys are paid, whether due to injury, age, or some other unforeseen circumstance.
That type of development can lead to a player being overpaid for expected production that isn't being realized on the field. With that in mind, let's take a look at the NFL's most overpaid players at every offensive and defensive position entering the 2026 season. Contract: Five years, $230 million fully guaranteed Deshaun Watson's five-year, $230 million contract, fully guaranteed, is the worst contract in NFL history.
The Cleveland Browns inked him to that deal after trading a 2022 first-round pick, 2023 and 2024 first-round picks, a 2022 fourth-round pick, a third-round pick in 2023 and a fourth-round pick in 2024 in exchange for the three-time Houston Texans Pro Bowler and a 2024 sixth-round pick. The high-level play in Houston that enticed Cleveland to make that deal occurred before his off-field legal issues surfaced, resulting in a league-issued suspension that kept him out for the entire 2021 season and the first 11 games of 2022. When he's played in his limited 19-start tenure as the Browns' starting quarterback, he's been one of the NFL's worst, ranking in the bottom five in the NFL in multiple efficiency metrics among the 50 quarterbacks who have thrown 500-plus passes since 2022.
Expected points added (EPA) per dropback * Only Zach Wilson ranks worse than Watson among 50 QBs with 500-plus passes since 2022 Cleveland has paid him an astounding $9.6 million per start over the length of his deal as it enters its last year in 2026: 19 starts for $183 million in cash earned. * Missed the entire 2025 season with a torn Achilles There may never be an NFL contract this depressing for generations to come. Contract: Four years, $53.02 million fully guaranteed The Arizona Cardinals set up 2026 third overall pick running back Jeremiyah Love to end up on a list like this simply by selecting a running back with the third overall pick. First-round pick contracts are assigned by draft slot, which means Love is locked into $53.02 million fully guaranteed over the life of his four-year rookie deal.
While his collegiate accomplishments of leading college football in rushing touchdowns (35) and scrimmage touchdowns (40) across his final two seasons at Notre Dame are great, that's not enough to earn more guaranteed money than some of the NFL's best. Love now earns more guaranteed money on his rookie contract than every other running back in the NFL, including 2025 NFL scrimmage yards leader Bijan Robinson ($51.56 million of his three-year, $66.75 million deal) and three-time Pro Bowler Jahmyr Gibbs ($51.47 million of his three-year, $67.5 million deal). Those two plus three-time Pro Bowl running back Jonathan Taylor ($39.02 million of his two-year, $44 million deal) reset the running back market from an average per year salary perspective this offseason, but Love still possesses more guaranteed money than all three of them.
He needs to be a generational running back in order to live up to his lofty draft status and the money that comes with it. Contract: Three years, $66 million with $44 million guaranteed Chris Godwin's three-year, $66 million extension is aging like spoiled milk. He has missed a combined 18 games over the last two seasons, eight of which came in 2025, when he registered career lows in catches (33) and receiving yards (360) while producing the second-fewest receiving touchdowns of his career (two).
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