Utes on List of Worst Contracts Ever

Utah wins the Sugar Bowl and the basketball team is leading the Mountain West.

But it’s not all good publicity for the Utes. ESPN.com has listed its worst contracts of all time, and two Utes are included (http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/index.). Keith Van Horn, it says, landed the fourth-worst contract in NBA history.

Van Horn is actually listed as Nos. 4-A and 4-B. His first contract was for six years, $73 million. Years later Dallas brought him out of retirement and paid him $4.3 million, just to make a trade work with New Jersey. He never played a minute on that deal.

Meanwhile, ex-Ute Scott Mitchell rated the seventh-worst contract in NFL history. In particular, ESPN took to task his second contract with the Lions, which paid him an $8 million bonus.

Why ESPN singled out Van Horn and Mitchell is debatable. There are other Utahns who could have been cited. For example, Shawn Bradley, the former BYU star,whose first contract was a seven-year, $44 million deal. Yet Bradley never developed into a reliable player. And ex-Ute Alex Smith, the No. 1 NFL draft pick who signed a six-year, $49.5 million agreement, but has been dogged by injuries and inconsistency.

Are there any other Utahns who might be on the list?