20. Matt Flynn, Seattle Seahawks (2012):
Flynn may be the biggest example of a one-game wonder in NFL history. That one game also led to him becoming one of the biggest free agent busts of all-time. In the final game of the 2011 season, Flynn threw for 480 yards and six touchdowns – both Packers’ single-game records – in a 45-41 win over the Detroit Lions in relief of Aaron Rodgers.
He quickly became one of the hottest free agent commodities and the Seattle Seahawks agreed. They scooped him up with a three-year deal worth $26 million including $9 million guaranteed. However, a wrench was thrown in the plans of making Flynn Seattle’s starter when the team drafted a player named Russell Wilson in the third round of the 2012 NFL draft.
Wilson won the starting job from Flynn in training camp before becoming a Super Bowl winner and the current highest-paid player in the NFL. Flynn and his massive deal became irrelevant. He was released and bounced around from Oakland to Buffalo, back to Green Bay, over to New England and the New York Jets before finally ending his career with New Orleans. Flynn never threw for more than 1,146 yards in a single season.
