15 Athletes Who Got Paid and Checked Out

15. Sidney Rice

Contract details: Five-year, $41 million. With the Vikings, Sidney Rice was one of the top receivers in the league, but as soon as he signed with the Seahawks for big money in 2011, he fell off the face of the earth. In Seattle, he totaled just 97 yards in three seasons. That eventually led to his early retirement in 2014.

14. Larry Hughes

Contract details: Five years, $70 million. Hughes took advantage of the fact that the Cavaliers were desperate to surround LeBron James with complementary players during his first go around in Cleveland. They gave him an astronomical contract and non surprisingly, he fell well short of earning all the money he was given.

13. Rick DiPietro

Contract details: 15-year, $67.5 million. DiPietro was given a huge contract after not proving a whole lot in his first few years in the league and it didn't work out for the Islanders. Good thing they didn't sign him to a long-term deal. Oh, wait ...

12. Ryan Leaf

Contract details: Four years, $32.5 million. Leaf never even proved himself as a great NFL quarterback before he got his big pay day. As the top quarterback taken in 1998, he was given a huge contract that he didn't even come close to earning. As one of the biggest busts in NFL history, he lives in infamy.

11. Ben Wallace

Contract: Four years, $60 million. At the time they signed him, Ben Wallace seemed like the missing piece for the Bulls, but it turns out he created more problems than answers after signing in Chicago. He was a great player leading into his time with the Bulls, but he was underwhelming in the Windy City. In fact, his signing set the team back several years.

10. Troy Polamalu

Contract details: Five years, $29.38 million. Polamalu was already starting to regress when he inked this lucrative deal ahead of the 2012 season and he only went further downhill after signing. When he was playing, he was still relatively important, but he couldn't stay on the field consistently enough to be the force he once was.

9. JaMarcus Russell

Contract details: Six years, $68 million. Russell is another quarterback who was paid for what he did in college, but did nothing in the pros. About half of his contract was guaranteed, so that's just sunk money for the Raiders. His size and arm never panned out in the NFL as he ballooned to over 300 pounds and lost his ability to make plays.

8. David Beckham

Contract details: Five years, $250 million. Beckham was one of the most popular soccer players in the world when he signed this contract (which included various endorsement deals) in 2007. That goes to show that this deal was more about selling tickets than winning games. The entire downturn of his career came with the L.A. Galaxy as he got one final payday before retiring.

7. Mike Hampton

Contract details: Eight years, $121 million. Hampton was pretty good pitcher before signing this megadeal with the Rockies, but he was never a solid pitcher again after inking this contract. He had various arm issues and couldn't sustain success again. Good thing he got paid right when he did.

6. Ndamukong Suh

Contract details: Six years, $114 million. It is only four games into his new contract in Miami, but it seems like Suh is content living in Miami and making almost $20 million a year. He is going to have to be better for the Dolphins going forward or they're going to really regret giving him this huge contract.

5. Chris Johnson

Contract details: Four years, $53.5 million. This amount of money is absurd for a running back, one of the most injury-prone positions. However, the Titans were pressured into giving him all this money after the former 2,000-yard rusher held out up to 10 days before the season. Their reward? He underachieved and was never the same back again.

4. Joe Johnson

Contract details: Six years, $119 million. While LeBron, D Wade and Chris Bosh were teaming up in South Beach during the 2010 offseason, Joe Johnson was busy getting paid more than any of them. Of course, his results have been worse as well. He's the definition of a volume scorer and isn't worth anywhere near what he signed for.

3. Barry Zito

Contract details: Seven years, $126 million. When he crossed the Bay and signed with the Giants, there was a lot of pressure on Barry Zito. He never came close to those expectations, though. Whether he was dealing with arm issues or underachieving, he was never the same player after signing the nine-figure deal.

2. Albert Haynesworth

Contract details: Seven years, $100 million. Once upon a time, Albert Haynesworth was a freak of nature in the middle, but right about the time he signed his big contract with the Redskins, he stopped performing. Most notably, he was out of shape in Washington and never ended up panning out. Just add him to the list of terrible contracts the Redskins have signed players to in the recent past.

1. Gilbert Arenas

Contract details: Six years, $111 million. At the time he signed this astronomical contract, Gilbert Arenas was a top 10-player in the NBA. After signing this contract, he was never close to that level again. He missed a lot of time due to injury and could just never get his timing back. Luckily for him, he has millions of reminders of how good he used to be before falling short of expectations.