Looking ahead: 10 best and worst contracts for 2020 February 14, 2020 The value of a contract can have far-ranging effects on a franchise’s operating budget. If a contract is favorable, it can open up a wealth of options for that franchise to spend a little money on high-priced free agents. However, if a contract is deemed expensive, it can severely hamstring a team’s payroll and leave them grasping at straws. To put it another way, contract value can determine whether a franchise will be buying high-end merchandise at Nordstrom, or nosediving for bargains in the $5 bin at Walmart. The following is a look at the perceived best and worst contracts entering the 2020 season — or, at least, at present during the offseason. The Best Grading the best contracts of the future is a lot different than assessing ones from the past. With past contracts, there is concrete data on which to base your judgment. With future ones, there is far more subjective reasoning. The following contracts were judged among the best due to their low dollar amount paired with expected output projected by a variety of analysts in the field. 10. John Brown, WR/BUF (San Juan Scorpions) — $0.25 Brown had a terrific 2019 and the Scorpions reaped the benefits from a league-minimum deal. Brown’s 2020 outlook remains cautiously optimistic. On the one hand, he only has two seasons of at least 1,000 yards and 6 touchdowns out of his 6 years in the league. On the other hand, he is coming off his best season and still has a league-minimum salary. 9. Le’Veon Bell, RB/NYJ (Nagasaki Kamikazes) — $3.00 Bell’s best days likely could be behind him. In 15 games in 2019, Bell had his fewest yards and touchdowns since 2015 — when he played in just 6 games. He finished 16th among running backs in scoring. Had the Kamikazes not paid forward his 2020 salary this past year, he would not have been on this list. But at $3.00 million for the upcoming year, his outlook appears good. 8. D.J. Chark, WR/JAX (Switzerland Squirrels) — $2.25 Chark had a breakout year in 2019, finishing 18th among wide receivers in scoring. He now enters the third year of his rookie deal, set to earn $2.25 million. Switzerland enters the 2020 season with not a lot of cash available to them — although they currently have the second highest cash-per-spot average — but they’re going to need Chark to continue his success on his cheap deal to help them compete this coming year. 7. A.J. Brown, WR/TEN (Nagasaki Kamikazes) — $2.00 The Kamikazes traded the rights to two veteran running backs with expiring contracts and wound up getting two young receivers on good deals in return. Both had similar production in their rookie seasons and both have strong future outlooks. And both are on identical contracts. Frankly, take your pick which one should be ranked higher than the other. Deebo Samuel (see #6) is given the slight edge in my book due to quality of offense, quarterback, and the flexibility he has in running with the ball, too. 6. Deebo Samuel, WR/SF (Nagasaki Kamikazes) — $2.00 See explanation for A.J. Brown (#7). 5. Austin Ekeler, RB/LAC (Christmas Island Crabs) — $1.75 Ekeler had one of the best seasons among running backs in 2019, and was, in fact, voted the MFFL’s 2019 Surprise Player of the Year. Ekeler played under a $6.25 million contract last season, and still had a favorable deal at that price. With his contract paid forward by Christmas Island, Ekeler once again looks to have a good deal. Whether his contract is “ridiculous” or merely just “good” in 2020 largely depends on the circumstances that transpire for him in the NFL this offseason. 4. Amari Cooper, WR/DAL (Turkey Jerky) — $1.00 Cooper enters the third season of his three-year deal that he signed during the 2018 Auction. His contract was front-loaded so that he’d play the 2019 and 2020 seasons under a $1.00 million salary. Finishing the 2019 season as the 10th-highest scoring wide receiver made his contract one of the MFFL’s most valuable a season ago. There’s no reason to believe there will be any kind of significant drop-off this coming season to prevent him from once again having one of the league’s best contracts. 3. Darren Waller, TE/OAK (Ukraine Grainers) — $0.25 Waller was arguably last year’s top find in the MFFL Auction. Signed to a three-year, minimum-wage deal, Waller exploded onto the scene and finished third among tight ends in scoring. For cross reference, that would have ranked him 19th among wide receivers. That’s a great value for a tight end. Waller’s 2020 outlook looks sunny, where he is expected to have a huge points-per-dollar average once more. 2. George Kittle, TE/SF (Ukraine Grainers) — $0.25 Kittle enters the third year of his deal, playing under a league-minimum salary after the Grainers paid forward his contract last year. The league’s No. 2 tight end posted huge, wide receiver-like numbers in 2019. As his team’s top receiving threat, he’s expected to have another huge season in 2020, which means his contract remains one of the MFFL’s best assets. 1. Aaron Jones, RB/GB (Nagasaki Kamikazes) — $0.25 Jones had the MFFL’s best contract in 2019 and there’s little reason to expect it won’t be the top one again in 2020. Jones finished No. 2 among all running backs in scoring and is a major focal point of his team’s offense. His contract allows the Kamikazes flexibility to go after extra help in the Auction. The Worst Grading the worst contracts is as difficult a proposition as assessing the good ones. You can use past performance as a guide, but only to a limited degree. You can also use a player’s price tag as an indicator, but the market value of each position will dramatically change when the league conducts its Auction. Thus, the following contracts are deemed among the worst at the present moment, due to a mixture of the aforementioned criteria. 10. Trey Burton, TE/CHI (Ecuador Ewoks) — $4.00 Burton just barely makes this list because he’s presently the third-highest paid tight end under contract. His points-per-dollar average in 2019 was woefully inadequate and his 2020 outlook currently looks bleak. 9. O.J. Howard, TE/TB (Russia Renegades) — $5.75 Howard was a huge disappointment in 2019, finishing 16th among tight ends in scoring despite being the 6th-highest paid at his position. There isn’t too much optimism about his 2020 outlook, although that could adjust depending on if the circumstances around him in the NFL change. 8. Calvin Ridley, WR/ATL (Russia Renegades) — $6.00 Ridley was selected fourth overall in the 2018 MFFL Draft but thus far has not lived up to his billing. While he has had sporadic games of huge bursts of points, he has also had his fair share of duds. Ridley finished 26th among wide receivers in scoring last year and enters this offseason as the 12th-highest paid at his position. Obviously, that will change when the Auction concludes, but as of this moment, his salary is a bit high for his inconsistency. 7. Derrius Guice, RB/WAS (Russia Renegades) — $6.75 After being selected second overall in the 2018 MFFL Draft by Jamaica, Guice has hopped to multiple teams in two short years. He missed his entire rookie season with an ACL injury and played in just five games in 2019. While he possesses talent, his inability to stay healthy makes his contract a bit pricey. 6. Royce Freeman, RB/DEN (Christmas Island Crabs) — $6.75 Freeman was selected one pick after Guice (see #7) with the third-overall pick in the 2018 MFFL Draft — are you sensing a pattern here? Unlike Guice, Freeman has stayed healthy, but he just hasn’t been a huge factor on offense. By virtue of his draft slot, Freeman’s contract has escalated quickly in his third season in the league and is due a hefty sum for a role player who hasn’t proven himself. 5. Alshon Jeffery, WR/PHI (San Juan Scorpions) — $6.75 Jeffery missed half of the 2019 season due to injury — he’s spent as much time in the trainer’s room as he has on the field in his eight years in the league. But even in the games he played, he averaged just 15.6 points per game, which ranked him 27th among wide receivers. There is uncertainty about his future and his ability to return to the field healthy, and that makes his salary not terrible, but perhaps a tad high. 4. Kenyan Drake, RB/ARI (Wake Island Wookiees) — $9.75 It might seem a little surprising to see Drake on this list given the dominant second half to the 2019 season he put forth. But his 2020 outlook currently remains unknown. And prior to his explosion last year, his contract was among the worst for a running back not named David Johnson. If Drake’s NFL circumstances get resolved, he quite possibly could fall off this list in a hurry. Until then, he’s looking a little expensive. 3. Melvin Gordon, RB/LAC (Turkey Jerky) — $15.75 Gordon did himself no favors when he held out to begin the 2019 season. Still, it is remarkable what he did after missing the first four games of the season, proving he’s still among the NFL’s best running backs. He enters the offseason as the MFFL’s highest-paid running back — after David Johnson was released — but he figures to be among good company once the auction rolls around and some of the league’s other top backs are placed on the block. 2. Stefon Diggs, WR/MIN (Nagasaki Kamikazes) — $14.25 Diggs received the Transition Tag in 2019 and the Bangkok Blitz matched his highest offer and inked him to a three-year deal. He was the 13th-highest paid wide receiver last year but finished just 24th in scoring at his position. While he still possesses the ability to put up huge numbers any given week, his inconsistency was maddening and he presently sits as the 3rd-highest paid wide receiver this offseason. 1. Mike Evans, WR/TB (Turkey Jerky) — $17.00 Evans had a disappointing 2019 season, of sorts, finishing just 16th among wide receivers in scoring despite his clear talent and positive outlook. There appears to be a market downturn at the wide receiver position. The EFT tag among some of the top wide receivers — those who received the tag last year, specifically — would be north of $22 million, which seems financially irresponsible. With the league placing heavy emphasis on running backs, the wide receiver position might not be heavily invested in this year. That would leave Evans as one of, if not the highest-paid receiver, a status he certainly hasn’t proven he deserves.