NFL players who played horrible after signing an extension

The second contract is always where NFL players make their life-changing fortunes. That said, getting to said deal takes a ton of hard work, commitment, and a franchise willing to believe in you.

For several players around the NFL, they proved those franchises right. In rarer cases, however, those very squads were left speechless as millions upon millions of dollars were flushed down the drain.

With countless horrific extensions to choose from, we believe we’ve sifted through some of the worst. Let's dive deep into which players performed terribly after signing an extension.

Full disclosure - this article didn’t count players who were traded to a NFL team and signed an immediate extension. In most of these scenarios, these players signed extensions with their original teams.

Now that the criteria has been outlined, let’s look at which players were flat-out awful after signing a lucrative extension.

Jay Cutler

Following years of mediocre records, Chicago swung a trade for Jay Cutler in 2009. In his first NFL season, Cutler lit up the scoreboards on a weekly basis, racking up 3,666 yards and 27 touchdowns. It wasn’t perfect as Cutler threw a mind-numbing 26 interceptions, but he gave Chicago a bona fide star.

His second season resulted in his best showing. Cutler took much better care of the ball en route to leading them to a postseason berth. The Bears may have lost in the NFC Championship Game but their future was bright.

A few productive seasons later and the franchise locked Cutler up with a massive contract over the next seven years before the start of the 2014 NFL season.

From the moment Cutler’s name was officially placed on the dotted line, he was ostensibly satisfied.

Cutler played apathetically, failing to put together a winning record for the duration of his career. Eventually, after attempting to make it work, Cutler was sent out of town where he would eventually retire after the 2017 season.

Michael Vick

In the early 2000s, there was simply nothing better than a Michael Vick game. The former number one overall pick was simply incredible to watch. He was as fast as any receiver in the game during his prime and as elusive as a shifty running back attempting to escape the grip of a defensive end.

The Atlanta Falcons were happy to have him as they built their franchise around his one-of-a-kind skill set. The world was Vick’s oyster in 2004 and he was promptly rewarded with a mammoth contract worth $137 million over 10 years.

Unfortunately, no sooner did the ink on Vick’s contract dry, was he a considerable disappointment.

Over the next two years, the Falcons failed to make the postseason. To make matters worse, and truly putting an end to his time in Atlanta, was Vick’s 23-month prison sentence for dog fighting.

To his credit, Vick did rehabilitate his image thanks to his incredible on-the-field work in Philadelphia as a member of the Eagles. Still, regardless of his resurgence, Atlanta suffered through a horrific rebuild thanks to Vick.

Jamal Adams

Quietly, the Seattle Seahawks were rubbing their hands together and grinning as the relationship between Jamal Adams and the New York Jets began publicly deteriorating.

Off the back of a Pro Bowl and All-Pro year in 2019, the two sides continued to bicker over a financial agreement. In lieu of paying Adams, the Jets traded him to the Seahawks.

As a franchise, Seattle attempted to get back to their hard-hitting, defensive ways. Viewed as the perfect player to usher them back into title contention, Adams played great for the Seahawks in year one. The all-world safety recorded a career-high of 9.5 sacks and was easily named to another Pro Bowl.

Seattle had seen enough and immediately signed Adams to a four-year deal worth north of $70 million during the 2021 offseason. Although it’s early, the returns have been horrific.

For the first time in Adams’ brief career, he failed to record a single sack, despite playing in 12 games. The Seahawks have also fallen into the land of irrelevancy as they’ll now be without the services of Russell Wilson going forward.

There’s still time for Adams to change things around. For now, however, this is one of the worst contracts in the league today.

Christian McCaffrey

Christian McCaffrey had his fair share of critics coming out of the 2017 NFL Draft. His skills, while undeniable, would seemingly be rendered useless by his diminutive size. In year one, McCaffrey’s critics were proven right as he rushed for just 435 yards.

After a solid second season, McCaffrey truly came into his own in his third year in the league. Carolina Panthers fans sat in awe as McCaffrey rushed for 1,387 yards and 1,005 receiving yards.

Thanks to his ability to do it all, McCaffrey was rewarded handsomely, signing a four-year deal worth $64 million. Unfortunately for McCaffrey, that very deal has been a detriment to his success. Since inking his name on the dotted line, McCaffrey has played in just 10 total games.

With only two years remaining on his contract, unless McCaffrey becomes the best back in the league over that stretch, signing McCaffrey long-term was a huge mistake.

Shaun Alexander

There aren’t many running backs in the history of the NFL that were able to capture league MVP honors. Not only did Shaun Alexander reach those lofty heights in 2005, but he did so in style.

On the year, Alexander manhandled his competition. He easily led the league in rushing, racking up 1,880 yards. He was also at the top of the leaderboards in touchdowns scored with 18.

His historic season wasn’t simply a flash in the pan. From 2001 to 2004, Alexander rushed for at least 1,100 yards and 14 touchdowns per season.

Seemingly smack dab in the middle of his prime, the Seattle Seahawks believed that it was a no-brainer decision to sign Alexander to a sizable deal. So, after pocketing the MVP hardware, Seattle handed Alexander a $62 million deal over the course of eight seasons.

Ultimately, Alexander was a massive disappointment. He suffered a broken foot in just the third game of the following season. He then paired that injury with several others.

By the age of 31, and only three years into his deal, Alexander vanished into a cloud of retirement smoke.

Carson Wentz

Philadelphia Eagles fans once believed that their team was on the verge of becoming synonymous with winning Super Bowls.

In 2017, the Eagles quivered in fear as Carson Wentz went down with a torn ACL in the midst of having an MVP-level NFL season. Despite being unable to lend a helping hand for the rest of the year, the Eagles went on to win the Super Bowl.

The following year, Wentz was a bit up and down, recording 3,074 passing yards and 21 touchdowns.

Unwilling to allow Wentz to hit the open market, the Eagles locked him into a four-year deal worth $128 million. Although they were all smiles, Philadelphia regretted the move soon after.

Not only did Wentz's play regress but he seemingly lost his way. This upcoming NFL season, Wentz will play for the Washington Commanders, his third team in as many seasons. The Eagles, on the other hand, are still attempting to find their new quarterback of the future.

5 NFL players who were terrible after signing massive extension, feat. Christian McCaffrey