Vernon Wells was a very good player for the Toronto Blue Jays. In 2007, he was rewarded with a 7 year $126 million contract. In the first year he hit .300 with 20 Home Runs and 78 RBIs but injuries restricted him to 108 games. After that first year, his performance dropped.
He hit .260 and .273 with 15 and then 31 home runs. His run production dropped severely with 66 and 88 RBIs. In the prior 6 years, he drove in more than 100 runs 3 times and 97 in another year. His batting average never topped .273 after his new contract.
In 2011, the Angels mistakenly took on the contract. With the Angels, Wells hit .218 and .230 leading to his removal from the starting lineup. The Yankees took on the contract for 1 year, but Wells hit only .233 with 11 Home Runs. The Yankees paid almost $14 million of the contract and released him.
After signing the large contract Vernon Wells had two good years but neither reached his prior level of performance. All his other years were poor with low batting averages and poor power numbers.
In the end, Vernon Wells had a good career, but almost all of the good years occurred before his large contract. The Blue Jays, Angels and Yankees paid a lot of money for poor performance
