NFL All-Overpaid team: Zay Flowers, Deshaun Watson headline players with worst contracts

The NFL is all about value.

As a salary-capped league, front offices only have so much flexibility to work with each season. And while that salary cap has skyrocketed over the years, now at $301.2 million per team for the 2026 season, markets have been dictated by positional value. Superstar quarterbacks and pass rushers come at a premium, running backs have been seeing somewhat of a financial resurgence after years of struggles, while special teams players are usually given whatever is left over.

Like any sports league, however, there are some players who don't provide their franchises the kind of value their significant contracts would indicate, especially compared to their positional peers. Whether due to injuries, poor performance or off-the-field issues, an inflated contract can handicap an NFL team, and there are plenty of them across the league.

Here's a look at The Sporting News' All-Overpaid team entering the 2026 NFL season.

MORE: The NFL's highest-paid players for 2026

NFL All-Overpaid team 2026

Players were included based on full active contracts. All figures via Spotrac.

QB: Deshaun Watson, Browns

• Current contract: 5 years, $230 million (signed in 2022)
• 2026 cap hit: $40.96 million (5th among QBs)

Until Deshaun Watson proves that he can even stay on an NFL field, his contract will remain in these conversations. So far, it very well may be the most crippling contract an NFL team has ever given out. Watson has managed just 19 game appearances since signing his massive contract with the Browns in 2022, a stint in which Cleveland has been one of the league's worst teams.

The reason the Browns' everlasting quarterback carousel has continued, now giving Shedeur Sanders and Dillon Gabriel opportunities to establish themselves, is because of Watson's lack of availability. After signing $230 million in fully guaranteed money, Watson was suspended for 11 games in the 2022 season, received season-ending shoulder surgery midway through the 2023 season, and was last on an NFL field in 2024 before tearing his Achilles, which he re-tore in 2025.

Now, Watson looks aligned to become the Browns' starter once again, at least providing the team with some value from his contract. But it's unlikely he'll ever reach the heights he showed with the Texans. Watson's contract has essentially prevented the Browns from building out their vision for the team under first-year head coach Todd Monken.

QB: Brock Purdy, 49ers

• Current contract: 5 years, $265 million (signed in 2025)
• 2026 cap hit: $23.71 million (15th among QBs)

The 49ers did what they needed to do to keep Brock Purdy around for the long term, and rightfully so. He fits exactly what Kyle Shanahan's system requires from a passer: effective game-managing skills, a high football IQ and enough athleticism to run when there's room. But calling Purdy one of the best quarterbacks in football, which he is paid to be, is a reach.

Purdy's $265 million total contract value ranks fifth at his position, ahead of names like Justin Herbert ($262.2 million), Lamar Jackson ($260 million) and Dak Prescott ($240 million). For a player coming off an injury-riddled season, throwing for 20 touchdowns and 10 interceptions across nine games, Purdy's contract doesn't match the 49ers' massive commitment.

The best version of Purdy likely isn't going to reach "superstar" heights, even if he's able to keep San Francisco's well-oiled offensive machine rolling along each year. Purdy isn't "overpaid" because he's a bad quarterback in any fashion; he's just set to make a ton of money as a player who isn't the difference-maker within his offense.

MORE: Full list of NFL's highest-paid QBs for 2026

RB: Alvin Kamara, Saints

• Current contract: 1 year, $6 million (re-negotiated from 2 years, $24.5 million)
• 2026 cap hit: $11.39 million (5th among RBs)

The Saints restructured Alvin Kamara's contract this past offseason, but his $11.39 million cap hit still doesn't align with his level of production at age 31. Kamara's contributions to New Orleans over the past decade should be celebrated, and he does have the pass-catching skills to be an effective weapon at times still, but for a player who averaged a career-low 3.6 yards per carry in 2025, the running back's last extension has hurt the Saints.

Kamara is also set to miss the first few weeks of the season with an MCL injury, another tough blow for the Saints' offense as rookie Jordyn Tyson also deals with injury issues.

Considering New Orleans just invested $47.4 million in a new running back this offseason, landing former Jaguars star Travis Etienne, Kamara's services as a starter are no longer needed. There's a reason he's popped up in trade rumors for a while now. Even his $6 million renegotiated salary, which is around the cap hit for J.K. Dobbins ($6 million) and James Cook ($5.8 million) this season, may be pricey.

RB: Chuba Hubbard, Panthers

• Current contract: 4 years, $33.2 million (signed in 2024)
• 2026 cap hit: $7.48 million (15th among RBs)

When the Panthers gave around $33 million to Chuba Hubbard in 2024, it was a time when he appeared to be the team's running back of the future. Hubbard totaled 1,195 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns in the 2024 season, one of the most effective ground weapons in the league. Just two years later, the contract already isn't aging well.

Hubbard is entering a prove-it year in 2026 after allowing Rico Dowdle to take over co-starter duties in 2025. Hubbard took his 134 carries last season over 15 games for 511 yards and just one touchdown, a steep drop in production from his strong 2024 season.

With a cap hit of $7.48 million, Hubbard is nearly making as much as Ashton Jeanty ($8.16 million) and Jahmyr Gibbs ($8.68 million) in 2026. He needs a significant bounce-back to prove to Carolina that its financial investment was worth it.

WR: Zay Flowers, Ravens

• Current contract: 4 years, $140 million (signed in 2026)
• 2026 cap hit: $7.92 million (35th among WRs)

Zay Flowers has proven to be worth his first-round price tag in the 2022 NFL Draft. He's increased his production in each of his three seasons, leading to an elite 1,211-yard campaign in 2025. His inclusion here is less about his 2026 cap hit of nearly $8 million — which undersells his talents — than the burden the Ravens have created for themselves in years to come.

Flowers' new extension carries an AAV of $35 million, which is tied for fourth among wide receivers with Justin Jefferson. Names like CeeDee Lamb ($34 million), D.K. Metcalf ($33 million), A.J. Brown ($32 million) and Amon-Ra St. Brown ($30 million) all have lower AAVs than Flowers. It's reasonable to question whether he belongs in conversations with those kinds of names quite yet.

There's no doubt that Flowers has been a difference-maker within Baltimore's offense, by far the most productive wide receiver Lamar Jackson has had in years. But the Ravens haven't broken through in the playoffs with Flowers around yet, and he can be extremely boom-or-bust in any given week; in 2025, Flowers had four games with three receptions or fewer.

Flowers still has to prove himself as one of the true WR1s in the NFL to live up to his extension. By 2028, he's set to carry a cap hit of nearly $37 million.

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WR: Brandon Aiyuk, 49ers

• Current contract: 4 years, $120 million (signed in 2024)
• 2026 cap hit: $7.36 million (36th among WRs)

Does this one need an explanation? Brandon Aiyuk hasn't suited up for the 49ers since October 2024 and has shown no intentions of doing so again, still in a dispute with the franchise entering the 2026 season. But to his point, San Francisco has shown no indications it will release the wide receiver.

Aiyuk has attempted to push his way out of the 49ers, but after the team found no trade partners this offseason, it's looking like there's little avenue but a release. In 2024, coming off a 1,342-yard season in 2023, Aiyuk inked a $120 million deal to become one of the NFL's highest-paid receivers, a deal that certainly aligned with his numbers at that point.

But after tearing his ACL in 2024, it was reported during the 2025 season that the 49ers voided the guaranteed money in his contract for 2026 due to lack of participation. He was then placed on the reserve/left squad list, and since then, Aiyuk has made plenty of social media posts bashing the franchise.

The fact that Aiyuk's guaranteed money for 2026 was voided helps San Francisco, but he still has a massive salary for a player who refuses to join the team. By 2027, Aiyuk is set to make around $40 million, assuming that money isn't voided by then. It's unlikely San Francisco has to deal with the full repercussions of its Aiyuk deal, but the contract has become a massive headache regardless.

WR: Chris Godwin, Buccaneers

• Current contract: 3 years, $66 million (signed in 2025)
• 2026 cap hit: $33.68 million (1st among WRs)

Your highest-paid wide receiver for the 2026 NFL season, based on cap hits, has appeared in just 16 games over the last two years. Chris Godwin is undoubtedly one of the league's best receivers when healthy, but health has been the issue since a 2024 ankle dislocation. The Buccaneers star then appeared in nine games last season, but only had one game with over 100 receiving yards.

Godwin, 30, signed his $66 million extension in 2025, when he was in recovery from the ankle injury. It was a gamble by Tampa Bay, and right now, it doesn't look like a good one. On one hand, Godwin has four 1,000-yard seasons to his name and flourished alongside Tom Brady and Baker Mayfield for years. On the other, he's become extremely injury-prone to the point he may have lost a step.

The Buccaneers will be hoping that Godwin and his $33.68 million cap hit in 2026 will bounce back after a healthy offseason. If not, his club option for 2027 looks likely to be declined, far to expensive for a declining wide receiver.

TE: Cole Kmet, Bears

• Current contract: 4 years, $50 million (signed in 2023)
• 2026 cap hit: $7.78 million (13th among TEs)

When Cole Kmet landed his rookie extension with the Bears, there was plenty of optimism that he'd be a focal point in the team's passing attack for years to come. He posted a career-high 719 receiving yards in 2023, with 13 touchdowns over a two-year span. But after his numbers fell in 2024, Chicago pivoted at the position, following the vision of new head coach Ben Johnson.

With Colston Loveland around, Kmet became expendable, yet the Bears held onto him. It's unclear whether they ever considered trading Kmet, and there is some value in having multiple tight ends capable of catching passes in the modern NFL, but the $50 million deal given to Kmet doesn't look great when he's not even leading his own position on the squad.

Next season, the final year of the extension, Kmet's cap hit moves up toward $15 million, potentially making him one of the league's highest-paid tight ends. If the Bears keep him around to that point, it'd make little financial sense to be spending so much on a TE2.

T.J. Hockenson ($15.6 million cap hit) and Evan Engram ($14.1 million cap hit) were considered, with both needing bounce-back years to justify their contracts, but Kmet being log-jammed by his own team gave him the nod here as the most questionable tight end deal.

OL: Dan Moore Jr., Titans

• Current contract: 4 years, $82 million (signed in 2025)
• 2026 cap hit: $26.35 million (3rd among OL)

It's quite easy to overpay an offensive lineman in the NFL. Many teams will fork over millions to a player thanks to their size, hoping that a new scheme or change of scenery can help any past issues. Dan Moore Jr. appears to be the perfect case study in those arguments.

After struggling with pass-blocking at times on his rookie deal with the Steelers, the Titans still gave Moore $82 million in 2025 free agency, spending big for a starting tackle. It did not work out as planned during a three-win season.

Moore allowed eight sacks, tied for seventh-most in the NFL, while on the field for 621 pass-blocking snaps in 2025, per Pro Football Focus. He also allowed 46 quarterback pressures, the second-most in the NFL. He had the kind of 2025 season that is making his contract look borderline disastrous.

Unless Moore can turn it around blocking for Cam Ward in a new system led by Robert Saleh and Brian Daboll, he looks likely to be released after the 2026 season.

Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images

EDGE: Jaelan Phillips, Panthers

• Current contract: 4 years, $120 million (signed in 2026)
• 2026 cap hit: $9.99 million (27th among EDGEs)

Jaelan Phillips hit the open market this past offseason as the best pass rusher on the market, making him bound to be overpaid a bit, whether by the Eagles or a new team. The Panthers wound up being the team to bite on $120 million for Phillips, who has had some productive seasons in the NFL, but has never quite been elite.

Phillips' career-high of 8.5 sacks came in his rookie season with the Dolphins in 2021. In 2023 and 2024 combined, he played just 12 games due to a torn Achilles. Then last season, between the Dolphins and Eagles, Phillips totaled 53 total tackles and five sacks.

Whether Phillips can be a lead pass rusher on a Super Bowl-level defense is unclear, but that's essentially what he was paid by the Panthers to be; his $30 million AAV is more than Brian Burns ($28.2 million AAV, 16.5 sacks in 2025), Nik Bonitto ($26.5 million AAV, 14.0 sacks in 2025) and Montez Sweat ($24.5 million AAV, 10.0 sacks in 2025).

The Panthers did what they had to do to get an impact pass rusher as they look to take another step forward in 2026, but Phillips' contract overestimates his impact on the field.

MORE: Who are the NFL's highest-paid defenders for 2026?

DT: Alim McNeil, Lions

• Current contract: 4 years, $97 million (signed in 2024)
• 2026 cap hit: $28.97 million (4th among DTs)

The Lions inked the 310-pound Alim McNeil to a $97 million rookie extension in 2024. Between the 2023 and 2024 seasons, he had emerged as a force up the middle, totaling 8.5 sacks between those two campaigns. But a torn ACL in late 2025 derailed his progress.

McNeil returned in October of last season from his long-term injury, but managed just one sack and 14 total tackles in 10 games. But now, the heavy portion of McNeil's contract is kicking in — his nearly $29 million cap hit his fourth among interior defensive lineman for 2026, higher than players like Vita Vea, Jeffrey Simmons, Milton Williams and DeForest Buckner. 

McNeil is yet another example of a player on this list who had an injury halt their production. If he can't step up for Detroit in 2026 after a healthy offseason, he may be a financial burden.

LB: Patrick Queen, Steelers

• Current contract: 3 years, $41 million (signed in 2024)
• 2026 cap hit: $17.19 million (4th among LBs)

At minimum, Patrick Queen has been a steady, veteran presence for the Steelers' defense. He hasn't missed a game, totaling 129 tackles in 2024 and 120 tackles in 2025. But Queen's significant contract for a linebacker also doesn't match his contributions.

At times, Queen can struggle in coverage, allowing four touchdowns in the 2024 season, his first as a Steeler. The $17 million cap hit he carries into the 2026 would indicate that he's one of the most effective all-around linebackers in the NFL, and while he's impressed at times, that isn't quite true. 

Queen is entering the last season of his Steelers contract. With a new defensive coordinator this season, the team is likely hoping for a bit more if he's going to live up to the $41 million deal.

(Jessica Rapfogel/USA TODAY NETWORK)

CB: Marlon Humphrey, Ravens

• Current contract: 5 years, $97.5 million (signed in 2020)
• 2026 cap hit: $26.27 million (1st among CBs)

At this point, Marlon Humphrey isn't going to be living up to the nearly $100 million the Ravens gave him in 2020. He's being paid as one of the elite cornerbacks in the NFL, but he no longer belongs in those conversations.

Humphrey's 50.1 PFF defensive grade ranked 103rd out of 112 qualified cornerbacks in 2025. He did grab four interceptions for the Ravens, and he remains a "ball hawk" kind of player, but Humphrey shouldn't be lining up against a team's best receiver every week anymore.

The 2026 season is Humphrey's last on his current contract, which will be a sigh of relief for the Ravens. He's making far too much for an aging star cornerback past his prime.

S: Bryan Cook, Bengals

• Current contract: 3 years, $40.25 million (signed in 2026)
• 2026 cap hit: $10.67 million (13th among S)

The Bengals saw something they liked in Bryan Cook in this past free-agent cycle, signing him to a $40.25 million deal. Cook's pedigree from four years with the Chiefs may be strong, but he also hasn't done much to justify becoming one of the NFL's higher-paid safeties.

Most of the highest-paid safeties in the league, like Antoine Winfield Jr., Kyle Hamilton and Jessie Bates III, are well-regarded because they're true difference-makers in a secondary, whether due to versatility or a knack for big plays. Cook isn't quite making as much as those names, but he is making a lot for a player with three interceptions, 15 passes defended and one sack over four NFL seasons.

Cincinnati has dealt with secondary issues for years, so perhaps Cook can shore up some of the issues. If he's the same player he was in Kansas City, though, his $13.4 million AAV may not age well.

Special Teams: Harrison Butker, Chiefs

• Current contract: 4 years, $25.6 million (signed in 2024)
• 2026 cap hit: $7.31 million (1st among K/ST)

Harrison Butker has been one of the staples of the Chiefs' dynastic run alongside Andy Reid, Patrick Mahomes, Chris Jones and Travis Kelce. But Kansas City faced newfound struggles in 2025, and that included special teams.

Butker, 31, missed four of his 35 extra-point opportunities. He also finished with a FG% of 86.8%, his second year under 90%. While Butker can still connect from long range, he's no longer putting up numbers like the NFL's best kickers, like Brandon Aubrey, Ka'imi Fairbairn or Nick Folk.

That's despite Butker carrying the third-largest total contract of any active kicker, $25.6 million, and owning the highest cap hit of any special teams player for 2026. He remains a solid option, but he's no longer one of the elite kickers across the league.