Whether they arrived by free agency or trade, Washington sports teams have had bad luck with athletes once considered among the best at their trades. Who were the costliest acquisitions?
5. Jaromir Jagr (Caps) » The four-time scoring champ arrived in Washington supposedly still in his prime at age 30, but in 2.5 uninspired seasons and after getting a $77 million contract extension, he didn’t get the Caps past the first round of the playoffs.
4. Dana Stubblefield (Redskins) » After winning the NFL Defensive Player of the Year Award with 15 sacks in 1997, Stubby had seven sacks in three wretched, out-of-shape seasons in Washington.
3. Deon Sanders (Redskins) » He signed for $56 million over seven years but lasted just one season, becoming the poster boy for Dan Synder‘s washed-up free agent class of 2000 that included Bruce Smith, Jeff George and Mark Carrier.
2. Denny McLain (Senators) » Went from a 31-game winner with the Tigers to a 22-game loser in one ill-fated season (1971) in Washington. Worst of all, the trade cost the Senators Gold Glovers Aurelio Rodriguez and Eddie Brinkman and a future 23-game winner Joe Coleman.
1. Albert Haynesworth (Redskins) » “Fat, drunk and stupid is no way to go through life,” Dean Wormer warned in “Animal House.” But it was good enough to get $100 million for seven years from the Redskins.
