$The Most Hated Player in Every NFL Franchise\'s History$

The Most Hated Player in Every NFL Franchise's History

By Seth Lassen

$The Most Hated Player in Every NFL Franchise\'s History$

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Every NFL Franchise's All-Time Most Hated Player — Being hated is something that comes along with being a professional athlete, especially if you’re one of the sport’s biggest stars. Throughout the history of the NFL, many of football’s biggest names have been despised by fans, opposing players, and sometimes even their own teammates.

Arizona Cardinals - Conrad Dobler — Dobler played 10 years in the NFL, the first six with the St. Louis Cardinals. The three-time Pro Bowl selection was a right guard with a nasty reputation. Sportswriter Paul Zimmerman once said, “Conrad Dobler was mean dirty. He tried to hurt people in a bad way…he made teams that he played on better. He played hurt, didn’t complain, but he was a filthy, filthy player."

Atlanta Falcons - Michael Vick — Vick was one of the easier selections for this list. The former Falcons star spent two years in prison for his involvement with a dog-fighting ring. He remains one of the most hated men in all of professional sports.

Baltimore Ravens - Ray Rice — The free agent running back was one of the more popular players in the NFL up until the 2014 offseason. Rice was arrested and indicted for third-degree aggravated assault relating to an incident where he punched his then-fiancée and knocked her unconscious. Video was released of the encounter and Rice hasn’t played a snap in the NFL since.

Buffalo Bills - O.J. Simpson — There’s not much explaining that needs to be done for Simpson. During his playing days with the Bills, Simpson was one of the best players in the league. Then, as we all know, Simpson was acquitted of the 1994 murders of his ex-wife, Nicole Brown, and Ronald Goldman in one of the most-highly publicized criminal trials ever.

Carolina Panthers - Rae Carruth — Carruth was no more than a solid player during his time with the Panthers, but he’ll always be remembered more for what he did off the field rather than on it. Carruth was found guilty of conspiring to murder a woman who was pregnant with his child. Sadly, the woman died one month later and the baby suffered permanent brain damage.

Chicago Bears - Jay Cutler — Never has a player in NFL history played with such an apathetic look constantly plastered on his face. At times, the Bears quarterback can look like one of the best players in the league. Cutler will immediately follow that up by looking like he’s never played the quarterback position before. Bears’ fans can’t wait until the day someone else is behind center.

Cincinnati Bengals - Akili Smith — Smith is one of the biggest draft busts of the past 20 years. He was selected with the third-overall pick in the 1999 draft and immediately got on the bad side of Bengals fans by holding out for more money. He flamed out in Cincinnati after four years and never made another start in the NFL.

Cleveland Browns - Braylon Edwards — Even six years after he last played there, fans in Cleveland still hate Braylon Edwards. He was never happy to play in Cleveland and only had one productive season despite being a former third-overall pick. Two days before the Browns traded him to the Jets, Edwards punched one of LeBron James’ acquaintances in the face outside of a nightclub. Edwards has continued to talk bad about Cleveland ever since leaving.

Dallas Cowboys - Deion Sanders — You can take your pick between Sanders and Michael Irvin, but “Prime Time” ultimately wins out because I still don’t think he’s stopped talking since he first entered the NFL. Sanders is one of the cockiest players in league history and his high-stepping into the end zone constantly infuriated opposing teams and fans.

Denver Broncos - Bill Romanowski — It probably had something to do with the steroids, but Bill Romanowski was never able to control his emotions on the football field. His short fuse and terrible temper led to several extreme incidents on the field. With the Broncos, Romanowski went high for a hit and broke Kerry Collins jaw in a preseason game. Later that year, he spit in the facemask of the 49ers’ J.J. Stokes during a Monday Night Football game.

Detroit Lions - Ndamukong Suh — Suh has earned his reputation as the current dirtiest player in the NFL. He’s stomped on a couple of players and even “accidentally” kicked Matt Schaub in the groin. Suh has permanently stamped his name towards the top of every most hated list.

Green Bay Packers - Brett Favre — Favre was well liked until late in his career. Between retiring and un-retiring what seemed like 20 times and sending inappropriate pictures to reporter Jen Sterger, Favre was constantly in the headlines for much longer than anyone could handle.

Houston Texans - Brian Cushing — Being caught using performance enhancing drugs is just about the worst thing you can do if you want to be liked by fans and players around the league. Cushing was suspended four games for PED use in 2010. Even worse, he still acts and talks like a USC fraternity bro.

Indianapolis Colts - Mike Vanderjagt — Choosing between Vanderjagt and Hank Baskett was an extremely tough choice to make, but in the end, Vanderjagt was more hated around the league. He retired as the most accurate kicker in NFL history, but he did have some high-profile missed field goal attempts in postseason games. He was also known to run his mouth and Peyton Manning once even called him an idiot.

Jacksonville Jaguars - Justin Blackmon — There are very few options to choose from for the Jaguars, so I guess that’s something the franchise can hang its hat on after making the playoffs only twice since 2000. Blackmon was the top wide receiver taken and fifth player selected in the 2012 NFL draft. 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. He’s only 25, but it’s unlikely he ever plays another snap in the NFL.

Kansas City Chiefs - Larry Johnson — Johnson’s time in Kansas City got so bad that fans were petitioning to have him benched or released so that he wouldn’t pass Priest Holmes on the franchise’s all-time rushing list. He was suspended multiple times by both the team and the NFL and even held out before the 2007 season until the Chiefs gave him the richest contract in team history. Kansas City finally had enough when Johnson used a gay slur on Twitter and took a shot at a fan because he made less money.

Miami Dolphins - Ricky Williams — Williams is hated for two main reasons: he never lived up to the huge expectations he entered the NFL with and he consistently chose marijuana over his football career. Despite leading the league in rushing with 1,853 yards in 2002, he is best known for failed multiple drug tests and suspensions.

Minnesota Vikings - Randy Moss — Moss had some serious attitude issues throughout his Hall of Fame career. He put in zero effort with the Oakland Raiders and didn’t even try to hide his malcontent while he was there. No fan base hates Moss more than the Green Bay Packers. Fake mooning an entire stadium isn’t going to make you a beloved player.

New England Patriots - Tom Brady — Tom Brady may very well be the most-hated player in the NFL today. It doesn’t help that he’s a member of the New England Patriots -- the most hated team in the league throughout their dynasty. The DeflateGate allegations have only increased the hate of “Tom Terrific.”

New Orleans Saints - Russell Erxleben — Erxleben isn’t hated outside of New Orleans, but Saints fans absolutely despite the man. The Saints made the horrendous decision to draft Erxleben, a kicker, with the No. 11 overall pick in the 1979 draft. He proceeded to be a massive bust, never make a Pro Bowl and had a few end-of-game blunders that cost the Saints wins. In 1980, the Saints lost 14 consecutive games and finished 1-15.

New York Giants - Lawrence Taylor — “LT” is one of the best linebackers to ever play the game, but he completely tarnished his reputation after his career. The New York Giants star was suspended in 1987 and then again the following year after testing positive for cocaine. Since his retirement, Taylor has been arrested twice for trying to buy cocaine from an undercover police officer. Even worse, he’s also pleaded guilty to sexual misconduct and soliciting a 16-year-old prostitute.

New York Jets - Vernon Gholston — Gholston’s name comes up every year around the time of the NFL Draft and not in a good way. He’s used as an example of the type of player every franchise must avoid. After being selected with the No. 6 pick in the 2008 draft, Gholston had no sacks in his three seasons with the Jets and was released prior to the following season. Jets fans do not like to be reminded of Gholston.

Oakland Raiders - JaMarcus Russell — In the opinion of many, Russell is the biggest bust in the history of football. His selection at No. 1 overall in the 2007 draft set the Raiders back years. Russell never seemed to care at all about football once he made millions and he had absolutely zero work ethic.

Philadelphia Eagles - Donovan McNabb — I don’t think it’s fair at all, but McNabb is actually disliked by many Philadelphia Eagles fans. Leading the team to five-consecutive NFC Championship games (albeit with four losses and one Super Bowl loss) apparently wasn’t enough. The expectations were always high and McNabb was unfortunately never able to bring a championship to Philly.

Pittsburgh Steelers - Ben Roethlisberger — Although no convictions have ever been made, Roethlisberger has twice had allegations of sexual assault come against him. Most people believe he is guilty of the crimes and have “Big Ben” near the very top of their most hated list.

St. Louis Rams - Eric Dickerson — Dickerson dominated the NFL like few before immediately upon entering the league with the Rams in 1983. Unfortunately, contract disputes plagued his time in Los Angeles. The Rams eventually had enough and traded Dickerson away to the Indianapolis Colts in one of the biggest trades in NFL history.

San Diego Chargers - Ryan Leaf — Along with JaMarcus Russell, Leaf is considered one of the biggest busts in league history. For that reason alone, he’s hated in San Diego, but it wasn’t just Leaf’s terrible play on the field that was detestable. Leaf blamed teammates for his poor play multiple times and got in several fights with teammates and reporters.

San Francisco 49ers - Terrell Owens — Owens was an incredible talent during his prime, but he’ll be remembered as one of the more selfish athletes we’ve ever seen. He cared far too much about celebrating his touchdowns in creative ways and seemed to have a terrible relationship with every quarterback he ever played with. Owens was easily one of the worst teammates of all time.

Seattle Seahawks - Brian Bosworth — Bosworth helped create an unattainable amount of hype for himself before the Seahawks selected him in the first round of the supplemental draft. He immediately signed the biggest contract in franchise history and showed up to practice in a helicopter. He played well during his short, injury-riddled career, but came nowhere near the all-time great type of player that he was expected to become.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers - Keyshawn Johnson — Keyshawn Johnson was one of the early examples of a prima donna wide receiver. To give you an idea of the kind of player he was, he wrote an autobiography titled, “Just Give Me the Damn Ball.” He was disliked by every team he suited up for and is remembered much more for his arrogance than as a great wide receiver.

Tennessee Titans - Adam "Pacman" Jones — He’s cleaned up his act in recent years, but early in his career, Adam “Pacman” Jones was the prime example of NFL players getting in trouble off the field. 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, “Pacman.”

Washington Redskins - Albert Haynesworth — Haynesworth stomped on the head of Dallas Cowboys center Andre Gurode, yet somehow still received $100-plus million from the Washington Redskins as a free agent. He immediately proved to be a waste of money by showing up to camp out of shape and complaining about the defensive scheme. Haynesworth ended up playing in only 20 games over two years for Washington.

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