# Will the Skins/Haynesworth deal go down in history as the biggest dud in pro sports? **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [June 17, 2010, 6:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-skins-haynesworth-deal-go-down-in-history-as-the-biggest-dud-in-pro-sports/543522 "2010-06-17T06:18:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e480ec/32.png) [@Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Least_Original_User_Name_Ever)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2010, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-skins-haynesworth-deal-go-down-in-history-as-the-biggest-dud-in-pro-sports/543522/21 "2010-06-17T20:35:49Z")
> [@Hawkeyeop](#): > > Getting Cabrera did not require giving Willis an extention. > > As for the op, no it isn’t the work contract of all time and neither are Pavano/Willis. They simply aren’t enough money. Or Cabrera either. At that point, though, the trade was a sunk cost. Either way, Willis tried and couldn’t hack it, which is cool. We gave him more than a couple chances. ---
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2010, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-skins-haynesworth-deal-go-down-in-history-as-the-biggest-dud-in-pro-sports/543522/22 "2010-06-17T20:39:52Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > We can’t forget about JaMarcus Russell this quickly. Try as we might. That’s the first name that came to mind when I read the thread title. ---
**Author:** ![Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e480ec/32.png) [@Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Least_Original_User_Name_Ever)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2010, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-skins-haynesworth-deal-go-down-in-history-as-the-biggest-dud-in-pro-sports/543522/23 "2010-06-17T20:40:31Z")
Pertinent [article](http://insider.espn.go.com/nfl/insider/columns/story?columnist=joyner_kc&id=5223108) about Haynesworth’s…well, worth. (ESPN Insider) ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2010, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-skins-haynesworth-deal-go-down-in-history-as-the-biggest-dud-in-pro-sports/543522/24 "2010-06-17T20:40:58Z")
Half the Red Sox shortstops of the Theo Epstein Era count. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2010, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-skins-haynesworth-deal-go-down-in-history-as-the-biggest-dud-in-pro-sports/543522/25 "2010-06-17T20:42:57Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > Or Ryan Leaf. > > Or Tony Mandarich. > > 🙂 There are plenty of other major busts out there but Russell received got way, way, more money than those guys. Russell’s contract included $31.5 million guaranteed, and Leaf’s rookie contract was worth $31.25 million total. I don’t know how much Russell got from Oakland in guaranteed money and salary. And I think he was so bad that Oakland is trying to get some of that money back. ---
**Author:** ![Stringer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eb8c5e/32.png) [@Stringer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stringer)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2010, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-skins-haynesworth-deal-go-down-in-history-as-the-biggest-dud-in-pro-sports/543522/26 "2010-06-17T20:46:05Z")
What if Snyder promised Haynesworth that he wouldn’t have to play in a 3-4, as Haynesworth contends? I don’t think owners should have free reign to promise whatever it takes to get a signing done without some consequences for breaking those promises. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2010, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-skins-haynesworth-deal-go-down-in-history-as-the-biggest-dud-in-pro-sports/543522/27 "2010-06-17T20:50:28Z")
Given that at least some of any NFL contract isn’t guaranteed, it’s pretty much a given that no NFL contract could ever be the very worst ever. The amount the 'Skins are forced to giev Haynesworth wouldn’t make the top 5 in useless baseball contracts. Plus in basketball you have Gilbert Arenas, who is going to cost the Wizards… Jesus, I dunno, $60 million? ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2010, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-skins-haynesworth-deal-go-down-in-history-as-the-biggest-dud-in-pro-sports/543522/28 "2010-06-17T20:53:30Z")
> [@Stringer](#): > > What if Snyder promised Haynesworth that he wouldn’t have to play in a 3-4, as Haynesworth contends? I don’t think owners should have free reign to promise whatever it takes to get a signing done without **some consequences for breaking those promises**. You mean like $21 million? We don’t know what conversation was had behind closed doors prior to the contract being signed. OTOH, Haynesworth \*publicly \* said “ **whatever** it takes to win is all that matters to me.” ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Scud](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f08c70/32.png) [@Tom\_Scud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Scud)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2010, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-skins-haynesworth-deal-go-down-in-history-as-the-biggest-dud-in-pro-sports/543522/29 "2010-06-17T20:55:39Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > Given that at least some of any NFL contract isn’t guaranteed, it’s pretty much a given that no NFL contract could ever be the very worst ever. The amount the 'Skins are forced to giev Haynesworth wouldn’t make the top 5 in useless baseball contracts. > > Plus in basketball you have Gilbert Arenas, who is going to cost the Wizards… Jesus, I dunno, $60 million? Washington teams have really come up with some doozies, haven’t they? First name that jumped to mind for me was Juwon Howard. ---
**Author:** ![KennerTheGreat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/a8b319/32.png) [@KennerTheGreat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KennerTheGreat)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2010, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-skins-haynesworth-deal-go-down-in-history-as-the-biggest-dud-in-pro-sports/543522/30 "2010-06-17T20:59:49Z")
Rick DiPietro’s 15-year deal on Long Island, signed five years ago. isn’t looking very sharp right now; although it’s for fairly modest dollars (4.5 million per, total of 67.5 million). Alexei Yashin’s 10 year, 90 million dollar deal, also with the Islanders, signed in 2001, might be even worse than that though. However, 24% of that was knocked off as part of the lockout deal, and then the Isles ended up buying out the last four years in 2007. ---
**Author:** ![It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/it_s_not_rocket_surgery/32/312_2.png) [@It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/It_s_Not_Rocket_Surgery)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2010, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-skins-haynesworth-deal-go-down-in-history-as-the-biggest-dud-in-pro-sports/543522/31 "2010-06-17T21:03:49Z")
[Here’s a bunch of bad ones.](http://www.streetlevel.com/2010/04/30/money-to-blow-the-11-worst-sports-contracts-of-the-last-decade/) The David Beckham one doesn’t strike me as very prudent. ---
**Author:** ![Rysto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ecccb3/32.png) [@Rysto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rysto)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2010, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-skins-haynesworth-deal-go-down-in-history-as-the-biggest-dud-in-pro-sports/543522/32 "2010-06-17T21:10:27Z")
> [@KennerTheGreat](#): > > Alexei Yashin’s 10 year, 90 million dollar deal, also with the Islanders, signed in 2001, might be even worse than that though. However, 24% of that was knocked off as part of the lockout deal, and then the Isles ended up buying out the last four years in 2007. The Yashin deal was especially egregious because in order to acquire Yashin, the Islanders traded the second over pick that year(Jason Spezza, who’s probably outscored Yashin by a wide, wide margin since) and Zdeno Chara, who’s perennially been one of the league’s top defencemen for the better part of a decade. And right winger Bill Muckalt, who played an entire 82-game season for Ottawa and didn’t score a single goal. :o ---
**Author:** ![Cubsfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Cubsfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cubsfan)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2010, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-skins-haynesworth-deal-go-down-in-history-as-the-biggest-dud-in-pro-sports/543522/33 "2010-06-20T03:43:48Z")
> [@](#): > > The New Orleans Saints agreed to send disgruntled offensive tackle Jammal Brown to the Washington Redskins on Saturday. > > Brown, who missed the entire 2009 season with hip and sports hernia injuries, signed his $3.62 million tender offer before the trade. He skipped the Saints’ voluntary workouts this offseason because he was unhappy with the tender, along with the fact that he might have to compete with Jermon Bushrod to regain his starting job . You’d think they wouldnt be interested in more disgruntled players after AH. Maybe I was wrong. ---
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2010, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-skins-haynesworth-deal-go-down-in-history-as-the-biggest-dud-in-pro-sports/543522/34 "2010-06-20T03:54:41Z")
Looks like the Saints only got a conditional draft pick for Brown. I think they could have gotten more than that…He’s a former pro bowl left tackle. ---
**Author:** ![crypto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b3f665/32.png) [@crypto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crypto)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2010, 6:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-skins-haynesworth-deal-go-down-in-history-as-the-biggest-dud-in-pro-sports/543522/35 "2010-06-20T06:41:24Z")
Like many of you, my first thought on seeing this thread was Jamarcus Russell. That guy is so bad he kicked Ryan Leaf out of the number 1 draft bust of all time. I thought that would be impossible. The guaranteed money Davis gave Russell was obscene, and he’s set for life. I believe it was over 30 million. I doubt he’ll play pro football again, at least in the states. Haynesworth is a douchebag of the highest order, but he did prove he could play in a contract year. Dan Snyder just happens to be the dumbest owner in pro football. He wants to win so badly, he’ll do anything, including signing someone like Albert to a very bad (for the Redskins) contract. I don’t know what it is about the Redskins, but when players sign there, they seem to die. Perhaps it has a lot to do with the contracts they’ve signed, where so much money is guaranteed, the players aren’t motivated any more. As far as the Hershel Walker trade, I believe that was one of the best trades ever made by one team (the Cowboys) and one of the worst by another (the Vikings). This trade literally permitted the Cowboys and Jimmy Johnson to draft the team that won 3 super bowls. For one player, that isn’t bad. ---
**Author:** ![Superhal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Superhal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superhal)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2010, 9:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-skins-haynesworth-deal-go-down-in-history-as-the-biggest-dud-in-pro-sports/543522/36 "2010-06-20T09:30:54Z")
I can’t find the details atm, but Stephan Marbury’s contract was heinous. Also, the team can’t terminate it and waive the player to make room on the bench. re: Haynesworth: I don’t think it’s the first time he worked hard only in his contract year and cruised the rest of the way. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-skins-haynesworth-deal-go-down-in-history-as-the-biggest-dud-in-pro-sports/543522.md?page=1)