BetUS Sportsbook look at the most overpaid players in the NFL.
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In NFL Football betting
and fantasy football drafts, individual players – and their
impacts – can be just as important as team
stats. Here’s a BetUS Sportsbook look at
the most overpaid players
in the NFL.
One of the reasons
the NFL is so successful is their smart money
management. The league instituted a hard salary
cap (and salary floor) back in 1994, and the
structure of their contracts minimizes their
exposure should a player suffer a major injury
or a precipitous drop in performance. That
doesn’t mean there aren’t a
number of NFL players getting paid at far above
their value.
The easy way to find
the league’s most
overpaid players is to look at those who were
signed to contracts loaded with guaranteed money,
but are not even playing in the NFL in 2007.
Embattled quarterback Michael Vick is front and
center on that list; the Atlanta Falcons are
trying to recoup $20 million from the $37 million
in bonuses Vick was given as part of the 10-year
extension he signed at the end of 2004. The Detroit
Lions are likewise trying to get about $10 million
back from wide receiver Charles Rogers, the No.
2 overall pick in 2003 who was last seen trying
to land a job in the CFL.
But that’s just too easy for handicappers.
In this world, “value” is a very
special word indeed. Our quest for the most overpaid
players takes us to the advanced metrics used
by the statheads at Football Outsiders to measure
performance. Those high-profile players who are
delivering at well below “replacement level” while
earning millions are worth our attention – put
enough of them on one team, and you have a prime “fade” candidate.
With that in mind,
here are the NFL’s
most overpaid players at the four key “skill” positions
on the gridiron.
QB: Rex Grossman ($2.035 million in 2007)
Michael Vick would
have been a top candidate for most overpaid
in the league based on his 2006 passing numbers,
but we’ve taken him
out of the equation since he cannot do the Falcons
any harm on the field in 2007. Instead, we break
out the brickbats for Grossman. In throwing situations,
he posted a Defense-adjusted Points Above Replacement
(DPAR) figure of 4.1 last year – worse
than Joey Harrington and Jake Plummer. The Bears
are understandably reluctant to exercise their
club option on the 27-year-old Grossman for 2008.
RB: Reuben Droughns ($750,000, plus a $1.5-million
signing bonus)
As a “systems” back, Droughns was
competent for the Broncos in 2004 and the Browns
in 2005. But the Oregon product slipped badly
last year at age 28, posting a league-worst minus-6.8
DPAR in rushing situations. That didn’t
stop the New York Giants from signing Droughns
to a restructured contract through 2009 as they
try to fill Tiki Barber’s shoes. At least
the Giants have realized Droughns’ liabilities
and will play him at fullback.
WR: Chris Chambers ($5.4 million)
Oh, Lordy. Chambers
didn’t get a lot of
help last year from Harrington and the hobbling
Daunte Culpepper, but his drop at age 28 was
even more disappointing that Droughns’ – especially
at this salary. Chambers was targeted more than
any other receiver on the Dolphins last year,
yet caught just 59 passes to finish third on
the team in that category. He was easily the
worst regularly-used receiver in the league in
terms of DPAR at minus-19.8. At least he won’t
have to worry about Wes Welker (67 receptions)
stealing his thunder this year.
TE: Bubba Franks ($1.4 million)
It’s hard not to like someone named Bubba
Franks. But he’s making it tough for Packers
fans to smile. After he caught seven touchdown
passes in 2005, Green Bay signed Franks to a
fat seven-year, $28-million extension, including
$7 million in guaranteed money. Franks has one
TD catch since, and in 2007 (at age 28, no less),
he posted an NFL-worst minus-6.5 DPAR. Packers
fans can take solace in the fact that his extension
was heavily backloaded, and Franks has evidently
lost his starting job to Donald Lee.
List of NFL's Underpaid
Players
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in mind when you’re
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Posted on 9/9/2007 3:43:14 PM
The Most Overpaid NFL Players
By BetUS Staff
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