NFL players make a lot of money and of course earn top dollar for their efforts. There are some who, for various reasons, are earning far more than they’re worth. Here is a look at the top overpaid NFL players.

When it comes to quarterbacks, people only care about wins. Ryan Fitzpatrick simply hasn’t led the Bills to enough wins to justify the $59 million contract extension from the Bills last year. Despite the Bills’ record, Fitzpatrick is pulling down $6 million – an salary increase of approximately 100 percent as compared to last year.
 

Asomugha came to the Eagles in 2011 amid much fanfare. In 2012, his play hasn’t lived up to the hype. Asomugha has hardly been the lockdown corner the league has come to know and love. As an $11 million dollar man this year, Asomugha hasn’t managed to be the impact player the Eagles hoped for.

Sanchez has been under fire for his play this season … with good reason. His touchdown-to-interception ratio is not very impressive. Sanchez’s quarterback rating is the lowest since his rookie season. And yet, Sanchez is making just shy of $8 million this season.

The Eagles pinned their hopes on Vick as their starting quarterback when they signed him to a monster $100 million deal in 2011. Vick is set to earn a cool $13.9 million in 2012 despite fans and pundits questioning whether Vick should be benched for his poor play in favor of rookie Nick Foles.

It doesn’t look like Bush has a chance to equal his 2011 rushing total of 1,086 yards. A $6 million paycheck had many Dolphins fans expecting more from Bush.

Anyone can see that the Jets’ offensive line is taking a beating this year. As half of the overpaid duo the Jets employ at offensive tackle (D’Brickashaw Ferguson being the other), Jason Smith has yet to earn his $4 million salary.

After holding out for a massive deal in his rookie season, Smith has never lived up to his first-round billing. The University of Alabama product was supposed to anchor the Bengals' offensive line and protect the blindside of their QB, but has flirted with being classified as a “bust.” The tackle has improved lately, but not to the tune of $7.5 million.

Heyward-Bey’s 2012 production has been a disappointment for the Raiders. Coming off a 2011 campaign in which Heyward-Bey racked up almost 1,000 receiving yards, many expected Heyward-Bey to take a leap forward. Instead he’s had a major drop off and is making $8.1 million.

A linebacker should be the heart of the defense and the Jets’ defense is in cardiac arrest. As one of the Jets starting linebackers, Harris deserves some of the blame for the defense’s decline. He’s still getting paid all $12 million of his salary though.

If Darren McFadden could stay on the field, he would be worth all $7.8 million the Raiders are paying him. But the problem is that he can’t stay healthy enough to do the heavy lifting that the Raiders need.

Hall is passionate about football, which causes him to be a bit hotheaded sometimes. He has a knack for drawing penalties at the worst times for his team. He’s also making upwards of $9.8 million without making big defensive plays.
 

Turner has left many Falcons fans thirsting for more production from the sturdy back this year. Turner is averaging the fewest yards per carry in his career this year and pulling down a salary of $7.5 million.

The Bills signed Williams to a monster deal in free agency in the offseason, but hasn’t lived up to lofty expectations. Coming off 2011 campaign in Houston where Williams only played five games due to injury, many expected him to be more impressive while earning nearly $10 million in salary this year.

Many kudos to Cassel for making the list of overpaid athletes this year again. Despite making $7.5 million, Cassel’s numbers have been down across the board since the 2011 campaign but his TD to interception ratio is atrocious. Cassel has thrown double the amount of interceptions as he has touchdowns.

When you’re paying a quarterback $7.5 million, certain expectations are heaped upon the player. When the player collecting that money is your backup, those expectations tend to get thrown out of whack. The truth is, Hasselbeck is a highly-compensated backup but his best days are behind him.