Every fan knows the sinking feeling of terror when their team's big free agent signing shows up at training camp looking as though he spent his entire signing bonus on boxes of Krispy Kreme. Yes, the Pablo Sandoval Effect is all too common in professional sports, where landing the big payday rather than winning the big game is the ultimate goal for most players. So who are the biggest offenders of all time? Get ready to relive your worst fan nightmares as we take a sad, sickening look at those athletes whose careers went downhill after getting big pay days.
Albert Haynesworth
Following the 2008 NFL season, nobody was in more demand than free agent defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth. Luckily for everyone except for Redskins fans, it was Washington that won the rights to Haynesworth's talents, singing him to an incredible seven-year, $100 million contract. Unfortunately, those talents mostly involved being a disruptive jerk in the locker room, arguing with coaches, and eating entire goats in one sitting (we're kind of speculating on that last one). After two absolutely dismal seasons, Washington traded him away, and his career quietly fizzled out. He does have one lasting legacy, though, as he's now known as the worst free agent signing in football history.
Alex Rodriguez
This is a slightly tricky one, as A-Rod actually got paid twice, first with a ridiculous $252 million over ten seasons with the Texas Rangers, then an even more preposterous $275 million over ten seasons with the New York Yankees. He actually played pretty well under his first contract, thanks to a copious amount of pharmaceuticals—he has since admitted that he used steroids between 2001 and 2003, though it's been alleged that he used for longer than that. But it's that second deal that lands A-Rod on the list; after a couple good seasons, Rodriguez began his inevitable decline—inevitable because the steroids he had allegedly been relying on to prop up his failing skills were suddenly verboten. Universally despised by everyone, including his own teammates, Rodriguez's numbers dropped off a cliff before he was finally suspended for an entire season.
Gilbert Arenas
The undisputed star attraction of the Washington Wizards, guard Gilbert Arenas cashed in on his popularity by singing a six-year, $111 million contract with the team in 2008. That bought the team 55 games. The rest of the time, Arenas was either injured or suspended for doing small things like, oh, bringing guns into the locker room. Tired of their top player being a massive black hole, the Wizards eventually traded him away for pennies on the dollar; by the time the final year of his contract with the Wizards finally rolled around, he was playing for the Shanghai Sharks in China. But at least he got paid first!
Josh Hamilton
It's a bit of an understatement to say that Josh Hamilton has had some ups and downs in both his career and his life. But by the end of the 2012 season, the superstar MLB outfielder had seemingly beaten his demons to become one of the league's best hitters for the Texas Rangers. The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim certainly thought so when they forked over a whopping $125 million over five years for his services during free agency. He promptly went in the tank for two seasons, followed by an injury and subsequent drug relapse. He's now back playing for the Rangers while the Angels continue to pay most of his salary. Fail.
Amare Stoudemire
Once upon a time, Amare Stoudemire was considered one of the most exciting players in the NBA. That time just happened to be when he played alongside creative genius and Hall of Fame point guard Steve Nash in Phoenix. The New York Knicks, however, were pretty sure Stoudemire was the real deal even without Nash's skills propping him up, so they dropped $99.7 million over five years to bring Amare to the Big Apple. So how did he do without Nash? Well, he was really good for, like, one year. Then injuries and the reality of being surrounded by a team of fence posts set in, and the whole experiment descended from optimistic debacle to embarrassing fiasco. The Knicks finally traded him away in the final year of his deal rather than endure one last round of torment.
Carl Crawford
The Red Sox like nothing more than making a big splash in free agency, especially if it means wrestling the national headlines away from the New York Yankees and the local headlines away from the New England Patriots. Well, they managed to accomplish both of those things after the 2010 season when they signed wispy outfielder Carl Crawford to an ungodly seven-year, $142 million contract. Unfortunately, the press they earned with the signing was for all the wrong reasons, as Crawford played just 161 games for them, or less than a single full season, and didn't play those games very well. The team eventually realized they had made an egregious mistake and traded him to the Los Angeles Dodgers. That's what happens when you chase headlines instead of championships.
Rick DiPietro
Unlike many of the people on this list, Rick DiPietro at least tried his best even after getting his massive payday. But that's cold comfort to fans of the New York Islanders, who watched their team sign the young netminder to a legally insane 15-year, $67.5 million contract in 2006. DiPietro earned his keep for the first two years of the deal, but then his career was derailed by one injury after another. The Islanders finally bought out his contract—which means they'll be paying him over a million bucks a year, every year, until 2029. Way to double down on your mistakes, Islanders
Ryan Howard
The big Philadelphia Phillies first basemen was one of the most dominant hitters in the National League when the team signed him to a whopping five-year, $125 million contract extension in 2010. And he was totally worth every single penny. For one season. Then time, injuries, and baby back ribs all began catching up to him and he started a not-so-slow slide into mediocrity, highlighted by two injury shortened campaigns. He's still a viable, middle of the road major leaguer, but when you're paying $25 million a year, you expect maybe a little more than that. Or a lot more
Stephon Marbury
Considered a bona fide superstar during his time with the Phoenix Suns, Stephon Marbury was hailed as a conquering hero by fans of the New York Knicks when he arrived via trade. They had no doubt that the exorbitant five-year, $90 million he was being paid was a fair price for a franchise savior. Instead, his numbers began dropping immediately, followed by his attitude. Disputes with coaches and upper management eventually led to Marbury being suspended, then permanently banned from the team after he refused to play in a game. All the Knicks got from Marbury in the end? A reputation for making stupid trades and a unique connection to the multiple semi-pro teams in China that Marbury continued his career with. Guess $90 million just doesn't buy what it used to.
Johan Santana
Johan Santana's record of 46-34 with the New York Mets doesn't look too bad. That is, until you consider the contract the Mets signed Santana to back in 2008: six years for $137.5 million, or close to $3 million per win. Well, that's what it would have averaged if they had actually paid out his entire contract; instead, after multiple seasons were torpedoed by massive injuries, the Mets decided they'd had enough and bought Santana out of his final year. Despite not pitching since 2012, Santana is still trying to make a comeback. One thing's for sure though: it won't be with the Mets.