Most Overpaid Athletes in Pro Sports

Kent Bazemore’s scoring average dropped by over a point per game during the 2018-2019 season compared with the year before — and he dished out fewer assists per game as well. Bazemore’s 11.6 points per game average was only good for fourth on the Hawks, even though he was the team’s highest-paid player.

After making four straight All-Star teams while playing in Atlanta, Paul Millsap cashed in with a three-year, $90 million deal with the Denver Nuggets in 2017. Though Millsap has been productive in Denver, his averages of 12.6 points and 7.2 rebounds per game are much lower than his averages as a Hawk. His production has likely been stifled by the emergence of Nuggets center Nikola Jokic.

For the second straight year, CJ McCollum’s scoring average dropped, now down to 21.0 points per game. This may be due to the fact that his 3-point shooting dropped to 37.5% — generally good, but below McCollum’s lofty standards. With his scoring average declining somewhat and his defensive struggles it has been difficult for McCollum to live up to the nine-figure contract he signed with the Portland Trail Blazers.

As Hassan Whiteside has been losing playing time to young center Bam Adebayo, his production has declined. Whiteside posted his lowest per game averages in points and rebounds since he signed a four-year, $98 million deal with Miami in 2016.

After four injury-plagued seasons with the Milwaukee Bucks, Jabari Parker signed a two-year, $40 million contract with the Chicago Bulls. But he struggled to find playing time while there, and the team dealt him to Washington. Though his play improved with the Wizards, Parker averaged less than 15 points per game during the 2018-2019 season.

Otto Porter was on the other side of the Bulls-Wizards trade involving Jabari Parker. Like Parker, Porter seemed revitalized by the move, but could not improve his play enough to justify his gaudy salary. Making over $26 million the past season, Porter’s pay towered over that of the rest of his Bulls teammates.

Chris Paul is the second highest paid player in the NBA with a salary in excess of $35 million the past season — the first season of a four-year deal worth nearly $160 million. Unfortunately for the Houston Rockets, Paul had one of his worst seasons, posting career lows in shooting percentage at 41.9% and scoring at 15.6 points per game. Paul, 34, may be beyond his best years, which could be a problem for Houston, as his salary is set to increase each of the next three seasons.

With the emergence of rookie Luka Doncic, Harrison Barnes had a diminished role in the Dallas Mavericks offense. His scoring average of 17.7 points per game while with the Mavs in the 2018-2019 was his lowest in Dallas. The Mavericks shipped Barnes to Sacramento, where his play improved somewhat. Barnes has decided to test free agency, declining his $25.1 million player option with the Kings for the 2019-2020 season.

A year after suffering a gruesome, devastating ankle injury five minutes into his Boston Celtics debut, Gordon Hayward struggled to return to the form that netted him a four-year, $128 million contract. Hayward posted 11.5 points per game, his lowest total since his rookie year. Despite making more money than any of his teammates, Hayward was the Celtics’ sixth leading scorer.

Once the top overall pick in the NBA draft, Andrew Wiggins has yet to live up to that potential. Wiggins posted a career low field goal percentage of 41.2% and continues to struggle on defense. Minnesota Timberwolves fans have to hope for some improvements, as this performance came during the first year of a five-year, $146 million deal.

After signing a $27.5 million contract extension, Tampa Bay Buccaneers defensive end William Gholston’s productivity and playing time diminished. He only recorded one sack and one tackle for loss in 2018, despite the fact that he saw action in all 16 games the Buccaneers played.

After a terrific 2017, Rams safety Lamarcus Joyner failed to live up to expectations in 2018. He had only one interception and broke up just three passes all season, despite playing in all but one Rams game. With a salary in excess of $11 million the past season, Joyner is the best paid safety in the league by a wide margin. He’ll continue to cash big checks after signing a four-year, $42 million deal to join the Oakland Raiders in March.

Veteran tight end Jermaine Gresham had a dud of a 2018 season, catching just nine passes for 94 yards and zero scores. This may have had a lot to do with the inept Arizona Cardinals offense, but it was a disappointment nonetheless — especially given that Gresham made $5.25 million in salary last season, or over $55,000 per receiving yard.

In the final year of a back-loaded rookie contract that paid him $8.5 million in its final season, Cincinnati Bengals cornerback Darqueze Dennard failed to record a single interception all season. A first-round pick in 2014, Dennard has yet to live up to that promise. He struggled to consistently play well but was still re-signed by the Bengals.

In 2018, Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins was paid $22.5 million — more than any other player in the NFL by over $5 million — yet he ranked just 10th in passing yards and passer rating. The NFL’s highest paid player has undoubtedly disappointed Minnesota fans, failing to lead the Vikings to the playoffs or even make the Pro Bowl.

After making his first Pro Bowl in 2017, Malik Jackson’s production dropped off the next season. He recorded just 3.5 sacks after notching eight the season before. His total tackles also fell to 32 — the lowest for Jackson since his rookie year. In 2019, the Jaguars cut Jackson halfway into his six-year, $90 million contract.

Being able to effectively rush the passer is one of the most important skills in football, so defensive ends are often some of the highest paid players in the NFL. Andre Branch received $7.9 million in 2018, but he only managed to record 1.5 sacks all season. After starting in all the games in which he appeared in 2017, Branch was largely relegated to coming off the bench in 2018.

A year after shocking the NFL with their success in 2017, the Jacksonville Jaguars took a big step back in 2018 — partly due to the struggles of cornerback A.J. Bouye. After making his first Pro Bowl in 2017 with six interceptions and 18 passes defended, Bouye could only manage one pick and eight defended passes in 2018. Bouye inked a five-year deal with Jacksonville, so the Jags no doubt hope he can regain his 2017 form.

After posting over 1,000 receiving yards with the Carolina Panthers in his rookie year of 2014, Kelvin Benjamin’s production has dropped every year. Questions about his work ethic and conditioning have dogged Benjamin, and he was traded to Buffalo, then cut, and eventually signed by the Kansas City Chiefs. Between the Chiefs and Bills, Benjamin had 25 receptions, 380 yards, and one touchdown in 2018, well below what would be expected from a receiver making over $8 million.

Justin Houston posted an NFL-leading 22 sacks in 2014 and earned a six-year, $101 million contract. Since that year, his production fell dramatically and he hasn’t posted a double-digit sack season since. Houston may have played his last down with the Chiefs. He signed a two-year, $24 million deal to play for the Indianapolis Colts.

When the Ottawa Senators signed left wing Bobby Ryan to a seven-year deal worth over $50 million, it seemed to be a good contract. But over the past few seasons, Ryan’s scoring has tailed off. He scored just 15 goals during the 2018-2019 season, and the Senators were outscored by 29 goals when Ryan was on the ice.

In his first year in Buffalo, Vladimir Sobotka had his least productive full season of play. The center tallied just five goals and eight assists in 69 games. The Sabres were also outscored by 20 goals when Sobotka was on the ice during the season — the worst plus/minus of his career.

Justin Abdelkader struggled to hold onto the puck during his most recent season for the Detroit Red Wings. He had a career-high 40 giveaways, while notching only nine takeaways. In 71 games, Abdelkader scored just six goals and had 13 assists — not the production the Wings were hoping for from a player being paid $4.5 million a year. Detroit no doubt hopes Abdelkader’s play would improve, as he is under contract for four more years.

Notching 60 points, 22 goals, and 38 assists would be a pretty good season for most hockey players. But for Anze Kopitar, whose $12 million salary makes him one of the highest-paid player in the NHL, it was a disappointing season. Kopitar has only once tallied fewer points in a full season. Kopitar’s struggles may have been one of the main reasons the L.A. Kings finished dead last in the Western Conference in the 2018-2019 season.

One of the most decorated goaltenders in the NHL, Jonathan Quick struggled during the 2018-2019 season. Quick’s .888 save percentage was the lowest of any full season he played, and his 3.38 goals against average was the highest. For context, there were 22 starting goaltenders that allowed three goals per game or fewer.

James Neal’s time with the Calgary Flames got off to a rough start. Though he never scored fewer than 20 goals in a season, Neal managed to light the lamp just seven times while also tallying a career-low 12 assists. He also struggled in possession, recording a career-high 35 giveaways while tying a career-low for takeaways with 11.

Dion Phaneuf is one of three L.A. Kings who failed to live up to their 2018-2019 salary in a big way. It appears that the defenseman had his worst season both offensively and defensively. Phaneuf only scored once in 67 games for the Kings. He also recorded just five assists all season after having at least 20 in each of his previous 13 seasons. Phaneuf also had just six takeaways all year — by far the lowest total of his career.

For the second straight season, Jason Spezza has failed to crack 30 points in a season after regularly tallying more than twice that amount earlier in his career. With his production slipping in his mid-30s, Spezza is entering free agency. He may not, however, be able to get another four-year, $30 million deal like the one he signed with the Dallas Stars four years earlier.

For much of his career, Brandon Dubinsky could be relied on to score at least 35 to 40 points and play solid defense. But his 2018-2019 campaign for the Columbus Blue Jackets was one to forget, as he scored just six goals and had eight assists in 61 games. Only in his rookie season, in which he played just six games, did Dubinsky have fewer points. Dubinsky earned $5.85 million in the 2018-2019 season, and he will be paid the same each of the next two seasons.

Statistically, Ryan Kesler was the worst player in the NHL the past season, recording an NHL-low -0.8 point shares. This means his play actually cost the Anaheim Ducks rather than helped them. In 60 games, Kesler recorded five goals and three assists — both full-season lows for his career. These struggles were especially tough on the Ducks, as he was one of Anaheim’s highest paid players, with a salary of over $6.6 million.

Since winning the 2016 Cy Young, Red Sox pitcher Rick Porcello has struggled to find his form. After going 22-4 with a 3.15 ERA that season, Porcello has had an ERA above 4.00 since, and this season may be more of the same. He’s given up a dozen home runs through 15 starts and, despite Boston’s high-powered offense, has a losing record of 5-6 as of mid-June — not what you would expect from a pitcher making $21 million.

Buster Posey had a stellar first decade to his career, racking up championships, All-Star appearances, and plenty of other awards. But through the first half of the 2019 season, he’s been batting a career-low .258 and walking less often than he had in the past. A player of Posey’s caliber can certainly turn his season around after the All-Star break, but the Giants likely expected better production when they signed him to an eight-year, $159 million contract.

Another aging catcher in the midst of a massive deal, Yadier Molina is on track to record his lowest batting average in over a decade. And it’s not just batting average. Molina is walking less often than normal, and through more than 70 games, he has had just four home runs. A nine-time Gold Glove award winner, Molina’s defense seems to be on the decline as well.

A two-time All-Star in Cleveland, Jason Kipnis has seen his batting average fall each of the last four seasons — from over .300 in 2015 to .213 in 2019. His power has also dipped significantly, with just three home runs so far in the 2019 season. Kipnis has also been a defensive liability at second base — not what Cleveland would have wanted from their second highest paid player, at $14.5 million in salary this season.

Tied for MLB’s fourth-highest salary in 2019, David Price has had some lofty expectations. Unfortunately for the Boston Red Sox, Price hasn’t found his Cy Young form in Boston and has not even made an All-Star team since joining the Red Sox. He made five with previous teams. Price has struggled to pitch deep into games, leaving lots of work for the Boston bullpen. So far in 2019, he’s barely averaged five innings per start, the lowest average of his career.

Many MLB pundits are projecting that Chris Davis’s seven-year, $161 million contract with the Orioles could go down as one of the worst deals in baseball history. Davis is hitting an abysmal .160 and has just five home runs so far in 2019. Davis would rank much higher on this list, but his contract includes deferred payments for years to come, which lowers his salary to a slightly more manageable $17 million per season, instead of the more than $20 million annual sum it is worth. Unfortunately for the Orioles, this means they’ll be paying Davis until 2037.

No relief pitcher makes more than Wei-Yin Chen. His $20 million salary dwarfs the deals given to other ace relievers like Kenley Jansen or Aroldis Chapman and makes him the highest-paid member of the Miami Marlins. Chen has had an awful start to 2019. In 28 innings pitched, he’s surrendered 23 earned runs, good for a whopping 7.39 ERA. He’s also given up six home runs and walked nine batters in this relatively short stretch.

Joey Votto has led the NL in on base percentage seven times, most recently in 2018, with an OBP of .417. Yet in 2019, his OBP has dropped to .353. Usually a .300 or better hitter, Votto has seen his batting average plummet each of the last two years: from .320 to .284 and to .253 so far in 2019. Votto’s defense has also slipped — he has already committed four errors this season, which puts him on pace to have one of his worst defensive seasons ever.

Albert Pujols’ offensive production has continually declined since he joined the Los Angeles Angels in 2012 on a 10-year, $240 million contract. Once the best power hitter of his generation, injuries and age have turned Pujols into a below-average player. The once terrific fielder is now a defensive liability at first base. Pujols’ contract will likely continue to hamper Los Angeles — the Angels are on the hook for two more years of Pujols’ contract — worth $29 million and $30 million.

At first glance, Miguel Cabrera seems to be playing well with a .298 batting average. But the Tigers first baseman, who typically hits more than 30 home runs in a season, has only four so far this season. This makes him much less valuable to his team. Cabrera is also a defensive liability at first base, making it that much more difficult for the Tigers to justify his $30 million salary — the highest salary of any non-pitcher.