Are Long-Term Deals Worth It?

Your favorite professional sports team just signed the biggest name in free agency to a 7 year deal worth big time money.  You love it, but will it be worth it?  It depends.  Many long-term contracts these days end up not working out so well for the team.  A lot of these contracts are signed halfway through the player's career, leaving the player with only a few quality seasons left in many cases. These contracts usually contain quite a bit of guaranteed money for the player as well.  Let's take a look at some long-term deals that haven't worked out quite as hoped.

Vernon Wells, Toronto Blue Jays - 7 Years / $126 Million

Wells signed his contract with the Blue Jays after the 2006 season.  For the next three seasons he struggled with injuries and didn't have a season worth noting until 2010 where he batted .273 with 31 home runs.  The next season he was traded to the Los Angeles Angels, and he never returned to form from there on out.  He had his worst season ever with his first year on the Angels, batting .218 with 86 strikeouts.  He was eventually traded to the Yankees in 2013 and had his final season as a player there while batting .233.  Vernon never found his groove once signing this big contract and cost all the teams involved some big money for poor player performance. 

JaMarcus Russell, Oakland Raiders - 6 Years / $68 Million

JaMarcus Russell hadn't play a single snap in the NFL when the Raiders took this big gamble on him in 2007. He had his first career start on the last game of the regular season, where he threw two interceptions and lost a fumble.  He finished that season with only 373 yards passing.  Russell's 2008 and 2009 season were so lousy the Raiders decided to release JaMarcus in May of 2010.  Russell only saw $39 million of the contract, but also only played 3 season, averaging that out to be $13 million a year for a player who struggled continuously throughout his short career.

Not all long-term contracts turn out to be as poor as the ones above, but it is very difficult for a team to find a player who will play well throughout a whole long-term contract worth big money.  Teams have to evaluate the age of players and decide whether or not they will be worth the investment for years to come.  Sometimes taking the next best guy for a shorter and cheaper contract is the way to go.