Bobby Bonilla & The Three Worst Contracts in Sports History

There have been oh so many horrid sports contracts over the years. Just recently, Kevin Love signed a 4-year $120 million deal. That is if you consider 2018 recent, which many of us likely would. The man deserved every penny that he got. But, there was a problem.

He was a bit old. He was unlikely to lead the team to the playoffs as the top option. And now the team is suffering through it. This is not one of the worst deals ever signed. Let’s talk about a few bad deals signed over the years.

The deals were bad on the teams, and the agents should all have gotten raises for finessing the other teams so hard.

Bobby Bonilla and the Mets

Bobby Bonilla Day is right around the corner. Every July 1, Bobby receives $1.19 million from the Mets. Why does this happen exactly? It’s quite the fun story to be regaled by yet again.

In 2000, the team bought him out for over $5 million. But, the decision was made not to pay him all of that money upfront but to just do part of it over a prolonged period of time. They opted to agree to a special contract where Bobby could make over $28 million, getting $1.19 million for 25 straight years beginning in 2011.

He had a solid playing career, actually, but he is always going to be known as the guy who fleeced the Mets and gets paid more than $1 million a year to do nothing.

Ilya Kovalchuk’s Lifelong Pact in NJ

The New Jersey Devils are the only professional sports team in the four major North American leagues that calls themselves “New Jersey.” The Jets and Giants, of course, go by New York. Anyway, a star Russian hockey player named Ilya Kovalchuk was playing for the Devils.

And though he was not exactly “young,” he signed one of the weirdest deals ever. It cost the team millions of dollars in fines, they lost draft picks, and there were even legal issues. The deal was set at 17 years and $102 million. This is not a joke.

They dropped all the Benjamin’s on him, and it was obviously quite the move. But within two years, he was back in Russia. It did not last. Wild contract. Terrible decision. Bad for all parties.

Albert Haynesworth Stealing $100 Million

A $100 million deal was signed by Albert Haynesworth after the 2008 season. He left Tennessee and was off to play for Washington. He secured a massive signing bonus and then got pretty lazy. He was owed the money due to the terms, and he never tried hard again.

He made two Pro Bowls and was a 2X All-Pro with the Titans. But, within two years, he was off the team. The 8-year $100 million contract just did not work. And it was not surprising to a number of former teammates he had, who agreed that he never worked hard.

In 2009, $100 million was a lot more than it would be in the modern game. And he just wasted time and money for so many. Yuck.