The five worst quarterback contracts of all-time

Jan 10, 2015; Foxborough, MA, USA; Baltimore Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco (5) throws the ball in front of New England Patriots defensive end Chandler Jones (95) in the first quarter during the 2014 AFC Divisional playoff football game at Gillette Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Greg M. Cooper-USA TODAY Sports /

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Jul 29, 2013; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Former Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb addresses the media during a press conference announcing his retirement at the Eagles NovaCare Complex. Mandatory Credit: Howard Smith-USA TODAY Sports /

Donovan McNabb, Washington, 2010

5 years, $78 million (2010-2014)

No one would have blamed a team for giving McNabb an extension like this in 2003, 2005, or even 2008. For almost a decade, McNabb was one of the league’s very best quarterbacks, just a cut below future Hall of Famers like Tom Brady and Peyton Manning.

That was no longer true by 2010. In the offseason, the Eagles traded McNabb to Washington, which should have been a big red flag–how often does a team trade their franchise quarterback to a division rival? And what does that say about what they think of said QB?

Yet Washington has long been blind to such red flags (Albert Haynesworth says hello), so of course it did the deal. And despite the fact that McNabb’s Washington tenure got off to a thoroughly mediocre start, it was somehow enough to convince the team to sign him to a shiny new contract extension during the 2010 season at 34 years old in the middle of his worst NFL year.

Just a couple of weeks later, McNabb was benched by Mike Shanahan for the immortal Rex Grossman, and in the offseason he was traded to the Minnesota Vikings, thus ending the great McNabb era in Washington. McNabb was released by the Vikings the next season–an ignominious ending for one of the decade’s best quarterbacks.

Next: Scott Mitchell

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