As we near the end of 2007, I want to look back on the worst sports contracts signed during the past year. These are head scratcher supremes.

So without further adieu, here are my "Five Worst Sports Contracts of 2007"

5.) Mariano Rivera's contract with the New York Yankees - There's no arguing that Mariano Rivera is the best postseason closer in MLB history. But the contract given to the 38-year old (turns 38 on Nov. 29th) this week shows us just how desparate the Yankees are. The Yankees and Rivera agreed to a 3-year, $45M contract this week. At $15M per season, Rivera will be the highest paid closer in MLB history and amongst the game's highest paid pitchers period. His salary will be more than $4M more than any other reliever in all of Major League Baseball. Rivera is coming off a season in which his ERA was the highest of his career (went from 1.80 in 2006 to 3.15 in 2007) and he had his fewest  saves since 2003. Rivera can still be effective as the Yankees closer, but with no other team offering anywhere near the $15M per season the Yankees were offering, this signing is puzzling to say the least. (While we're talking about the Yankees, the signing of 36-year old Jorge Posada to a 4-year, $52M deal is also a head scratcher. Posada has logged a lot of innings behind the plate and will make $13M per season for a contract that will expire when he's 40. The main reason you sign Posada is because he's tremendous with your pitching staff, but if 2-years in to his contract he's got to DH because of age and injuries, this contract seems to make little sense either).

4.) Nate Clements' contract with the San Francisco 49ers - When you think of the best defensive players in the NFL today, I'm guessing you think of players like Brian Urlacher, Ray Lewis, Troy Polamalu and Adalius Thomas. But Nate Clements is the highest paid defensive player in the history of the NFL thanks to the ridiculous contract the 49ers signed him to this past offseason. The 49ers signed the cornerback to an 8-year, $80M deal with a $22M signing bonus. Currently the 49ers defense ranks 19th overall (out of 32 NFL teams) and is giving up 22.3 points per game, which ranks them 22nd in the league. Clements is a solid cornerback, but making him the highest paid defensive player in NFL history is dumbfounding.

3.) Nick Saban's contract with the University of Alabama - The Crimson Tide lured Saban away from the NFL's Miami Dolphins with an 8-year, $32M contract. They were paying for the LSU version of Saban and instead have so far received the Dolphins version of Nick Saban. Alabama has lost its last three games - to LSU, Mississippi State and lowly Louisiana Monroe. And Saban's handling of his departure from the Dolphins, the racial slurs he made shortly after he was hired and his comments relating the catastrophe of the current state of his football program with Pearl Harbor and 9/11 have been sizeable PR blunders for a coach making $4M per season.

2.) Barry Zito's contract with the San Francisco Giants - The contract was actually completed on 12/28/2006, but I'm going to include this enormous blunder on this list anyways. Zito signed a 7-year, $126M deal with the San Francisco Giants. What in the world was Giants GM Brian Sabean thinking?! I understand the Giants wanted to make a splash in the free agent market and were looking for a new headliner to replace Barry Bonds, but this contract was ludicrous. The contract the Giants gave to Zito is the largest contract ever given to a pitcher in the history of MLB. To make matters worse,  the team also went to 7-years on the deal - a huge no-no when signing pitchers, whose arm, elbow and shoulder woes can become career enders. Zito is a quality pitcher (won the AL Cy Young Award in 2002), but the Giants vastly overpaid for him. How did Zito pitch in the first year of his lucrative new deal? He was 11-13 with a 4.53 ERA.

1.) Isiah Thomas' extension with the New York Knicks - Knicks owner James Dolan has already shown us many times over that he's the worst owner in the NBA. The worst contract decision of 2007 in my opinion was last March when Dolan signed Thomas to a multi-year extension to continue as the GM and Head Coach of the New York Knicks. This was based on the fact that the Knicks were 29-34 and six games better than the previous year when Larry Brown coached the Knicks. At the time of Thomas' extension, the Knicks were in the 8th spot in the Eastern Conference playoff race. (Too bad all of us aren't rewarded as handsomely for such mediocrity!)

How has Thomas fared since the contract extension? His Knicks have gone 6-22 since he signed his multi-year extension, the Knicks faded down the stretch last season and missed the playoffs, he's been embroiled in an embarrassing sexual harrassment trial which will cost the Knicks millions of dollars and he's at odds with his point guard Stephon Marbury (some reports had him actually trading punches with Marbury on the team plane). Thomas will eventually lose his job and when he does, I hope he's saved the money he made as a player, GM and coach because there's not a team in the NBA who will touch him.

Its just a shame that NBA Commissioner David Stern can't remove the Dolan family as the owners of the Knicks. As long as James Dolan is around, the franchise will continue to make bad decisions and will be a high profile black-eye for the league.

Do you agree or disagree with my list? Post a comment or send me an email at info@sportsbusinessradio.com