The NFL is as polarizing a sport as there is in professional sports today. With so many heated rivalries and differing opinions on teams and players, there is a wide collection of players who have become accustomed to hearing boos. Here is every NFL team’s most hated player.
Arizona Cardinals: Carson Palmer
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Arizona Cardinals: Carson Palmer
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Not to add insult to Palmer’s recent ACL injury, but there is a reason why he has been on three teams in the past five seasons. Players of Palmer’s caliber do not get sent packing unless there is some underlying issue. Even though Palmer had seven largely successful seasons in Cincinnati, Bengals fans were rumored to have trashed his lawn on his way out of town.
Atlanta Falcons: Osi Umenyiora
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Atlanta Falcons: Osi Umenyiora
USA TODAY Sports - Dale Zanine
It's no easy task to find a widely hated player on the all-good-guy Atlanta Falcons. Umenyiora probably does not deserve the distinction, but as a key cog and dominant pass rusher for the New York Giants in their two Super Bowl championship runs, he is sure to have infuriated some opposing fans in the process.
Baltimore Ravens: Terrell Suggs
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Baltimore Ravens: Terrell Suggs
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Now that Ray Rice has been released, the decision becomes a little more challenging. “T-Sizzle” is not afraid to speak his mind and does not care what anyone thinks about it. Suggs has also been known to deliver what some opposing players describe as cheap shots.
Buffalo Bills: Marcell Dareus
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Buffalo Bills: Marcell Dareus
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The Bills' big defensive lineman was already facing felony charges for possession of synthetic marijuana this past offseason when he was arrested again for drag racing. He was charged with reckless endangerment, reckless driving and participating in an illegal speed contest. Dareus is a very good player for Buffalo, but these off-field incidents aren’t gaining him any fans.
Carolina Panthers: Greg Hardy
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Carolina Panthers: Greg Hardy
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Hardy was convicted of assaulting a woman and communicating threats on June 15, 2014. He played in the Panthers' Week 1 game, but was deactivated the following week and placed on the Exempt/Commissioner’s Permission List on September 17. He will be paid his full salary, but will be ineligible to participate in games or practices.
Chicago Bears: Jay Cutler
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Chicago Bears: Jay Cutler
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Never has a player in NFL history played with such an apathetic look on his face. At times, the Bears quarterback looks like one of the best players in the league; at others, he looks like he’s never played the quarterback position before.
Cincinnati Bengals: Adam Jones
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Cincinnati Bengals: Adam Jones
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Where do we start with Jones? Sure, he’s calmed down since earlier in his career, but people have not forgotten his numerous run-ins with the law. Jones once “made it rain” at a strip club and when the dancer started picking up the money, he grabbed her by the hair and slammed her head on stage. Yeah … hard to be forgiven for that.
Cleveland Browns: Johnny Manziel
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Cleveland Browns: Johnny Manziel
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“Johnny Football” was dominant on the field for Texas A&M on the way to his Heisman trophy, but he was quite simply a mess off the field. Manziel’s frequent partying ways have become what he is best known for, rather than his play on the field that made him worthy of a first-round selection.
Dallas Cowboys: Tony Romo
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Dallas Cowboys: Tony Romo
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Poor poor Tony Romo. Quarterbacking America’s Team and one of the most hated franchises in pro sports is no easy task. More so than any quarterback in recent memory, the Cowboys quarterback has the reputation of not being able to get the job done when it matters most. Whether he’s earned the unclutch reputation or not, Romo will continue to be one of the most hated players as long as he is the Cowboys' quarterback.
Denver Broncos: Peyton Manning
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Denver Broncos: Peyton Manning
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This one doesn’t make a lot of sense to me, but outside of Denver and Indianapolis, the elder Manning has his fair share of haters. Peyton is the type of player you either love or hate, so while he is one of the most liked athletes in the world, he’s also one of the most hated. Being hated for being so good is not such a bad thing though, is it?
Detroit Lions: Ndamukong Suh
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Detroit Lions: Ndamukong Suh
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Suh has earned his reputation as the dirtiest player in the NFL. He’s stomped on a couple of players and even “accidentally” kicked Matt Schaub in a very sensitive area. Suh has permanently stamped his name towards the top of every "most hated" list for a while.
Green Bay Packers: Matt Flynn
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Green Bay Packers: Matt Flynn
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The Packers, led by the widely liked and respected Aaron Rodgers, are another team without an obvious pick for the most hated. Backup quarterback Matt Flynn had a monster game in Week 17 of the 2011-12 season in replacement of a resting Rodgers, and it led to the Seahawks and then Raiders signing him to a sizable contracts. Flynn gets the call for letting down a couple of fanbases that hoped he would be the savior.
Houston Texans: Brian Cushing
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Houston Texans: Brian Cushing
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Being caught using PEDs is just about the worst thing you can do if you want to be liked by fans. Just ask baseball players. Cushing was suspended for four games for PED use in 2010, and football fans around the country have not forgotten.
Indianapolis Colts: Trent Richardson
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Indianapolis Colts: Trent Richardson
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Richardson was one of the most highly-touted running backs to come out of college when he was drafted with the third overall pick in the 2012 NFL Draft by the Cleveland Browns. The Browns gave up on Richardson after only two games in 2013 and traded him to the Colts for a first-round pick. He has been a huge bust in Indianapolis as well, and is averaging 3.2 yards per carry so far this season.
Jacksonville Jaguars: Justin Blackmon
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Jacksonville Jaguars: Justin Blackmon
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It’s hard to hate anybody on a team as pathetic on the field as the Jacksonville Jaguars are. Blackmon was the top wide receiver taken and fifth player selected in the 2012 NFL draft, only two picks behind Trent Richardson. He has been suspended multiple times by the NFL for violating the league’s substance abuse policy, and voluntarily checked himself into rehab in October.
Kansas City Chiefs: A.J. Jenkins
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Kansas City Chiefs: A.J. Jenkins
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The third straight 2012 first-round draft pick to make the list, A.J. Jenkins was a major bust for the team that drafted him 30th overall, the San Francisco 49ers. Jenkins was active for only three games in his rookie season and was targeted once, a pass in which he dropped. The Niners traded Jenkins to the Chiefs during the offseason, and he has had little impact in Kansas City. His first NFL reception came 511 days after he was drafted.
Miami Dolphins: Cortland Finnegan
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Miami Dolphins: Cortland Finnegan
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Finnegan is best known for his loud mouth and for his fight with Houston Texans wide receiver Andre Johnson a few years ago. Finnegan loves to talk trash to the wide receivers he is covering, and there’s no doubt he’s not only disliked by fans, but by opposing players too.
Minnesota Vikings: Adrian Peterson
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Minnesota Vikings: Adrian Peterson
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Adrian Peterson was one of the most popular and well-liked players heading into this season, but boy did that change in a hurry. On September 12, Peterson was indicted by a grand jury on charges of reckless or negligent injury to a child. Peterson was placed on the NFL’s Exempt/Commissioner’s Permission list and after accepting a plea deal in November, the NFL announced Peterson would be suspended for at least the remainder of the season.
New England Patriots: Tom Brady
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New England Patriots: Tom Brady
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Somewhat similar to Peyton Manning, Brady has garnered most of his haters because of his greatness. Being the leader of one of the most hated teams doesn’t help his cause either. Brady will go down as one of the best of all time, but he will have plenty of people rooting against him before he decides to hang them up.
New Orleans Saints: Jimmy Graham
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New Orleans Saints: Jimmy Graham
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If there’s one thing fans hate, it’s super-rich athletes holding out for even more money. Saints “tight end” Jimmy Graham took it even a step further. He asked arbitrators to decide he was a wide receiver rather than a tight end so that he would become more valuable in the NFL’s franchise tag system.
New York Giants: Eli Manning
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New York Giants: Eli Manning
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The younger Manning brother has won two Super Bowls as a starter, placing him in elite company in the NFL record books. The debate rages on every year amongst fans as to how good Eli truly is. He does not help his case by making some of the worst decisions on the football field you could ever imagine.
New York Jets: Michael Vick
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New York Jets: Michael Vick
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Michael Vick will be one of the most hated players in the NFL for as long as he is still in the league. Even though he spent the majority of two years in jail for his role in a dog fighting ring, many people have not and will not forgive the Jets' starting quarterback.
Oakland Raiders: Matt Schaub
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Oakland Raiders: Matt Schaub
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It’s hard to not feel bad for the guy, but Schaub’s shockingly poor play over the past two seasons has made him a villain in both Oakland and Houston. Prior to the 2013 season, Schaub was a quality quarterback and highly regarded around the league. The 2013 season was a disaster and Schaub was benched. He was traded to Oakland and expected to be the Raiders' starter, but lost his job before the season even started to rookie Derek Carr.
Philadelphia Eagles: Riley Cooper
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Philadelphia Eagles: Riley Cooper
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Wide receiver Riley Cooper was caught on camera screaming racial slurs at a Kenny Chesney concert after being denied backstage access by the bouncers. The Eagles fined Cooper an undisclosed amount and the incident is not something fans have forgotten.
Pittsburgh Steelers: Ben Roethlisberger
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Pittsburgh Steelers: Ben Roethlisberger
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Big Ben was accused of sexually assaulting a woman while at celebrity golf tournament in 2008, and then found himself in trouble again just one year later. The two-time Super Bowl Championship winning quarterback was under investigation for sexually assaulting a 20-year-old woman inside a Georgia nightclub women’s restroom.
San Diego Chargers: Manti Te'o
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San Diego Chargers: Manti Te'o
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Te’o was the main piece in one of the stranger sports stories in quite some time in 2013. It was revealed that his girlfriend, whom he had said died in September 2012, never even existed. The Chargers linebacker was the victim of the hoax after all, but many fans dislike and blame Te’o for the entire ordeal.
San Francisco 49ers: Aldon Smith
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San Francisco 49ers: Aldon Smith
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Aldon Smith is probably the best pass rusher in the NFL today, but he has unfortunately become better known for his off-field issues. In just under three years' time, the outside linebacker has twice been arrested for driving under the influence, charged with three felony counts of illegal possession of an assault weapon, and has been arrested for allegedly claiming to have a bomb at an airport.
Seattle Seahawks: Richard Sherman
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Seattle Seahawks: Richard Sherman
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Sure, being confident in your own abilities is a good quality, but Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman takes it way too far. Sherman will not shut up about his feelings that he is the best cornerback in the league, rather than let his play do the talking for him. Richard, we get it, you're good.
St. Louis Rams: Kenny Britt
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St. Louis Rams: Kenny Britt
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Britt is one of those guys with all the talent in the world who has wasted it with his off-field issues. The Rams wide receiver’s latest incident came when his close friend was involved in a stabbing and Britt drove him to the hospital. When police asked him about the incident, he was not willing to cooperate. Since he has joined the NFL, Britt has had nine incidents with the police.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Dashon Goldson
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Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Dashon Goldson
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The hard-hitting safety made a lot of fans as the thumper in the back of the San Francisco 49ers' stout defense for years. His stellar play earned him a big contract with the Buccaneers. Goldson’s hard hits over the past couple years have at times turned dirty, and he has been fined or suspended several times as a result.
Tennessee Titans: Bernard Pollard
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Tennessee Titans: Bernard Pollard
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The entire league might not hate Bernard Pollard, but New England Patriots fans certainly do. In 2008, the safety tackled Tom Brady low, tearing his ACL. The next year, then Patriot Wes Welker cut to avoid a Pollard hit and tore knee ligaments, ending his season. In the 2012 AFC Championship, he tackled Rob Gronkowski and caused the tight end to suffer a high ankle sprain and limited him severely in the Super Bowl two weeks later.
Washington Redskins: Daniel Snyder (Owner)
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Washington Redskins: Daniel Snyder (Owner)
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Okay, he might not be a player, but team owner Daniel Snyder is by far the most hated member of the Redskins organization. Snyder refuses, amid many growing protests, to change the Redskins team name that has been deemed derogatory by many.
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