He got $31,000,000 Guaranteed.
If you work from age 22 to age 65 you would need to make almost 750,000 a year to make that in your lifetime.
In other words, well less than 1% of the population will earn in their life what he earn by signing his name to the contract.
I don't know how anything he did after executing that signature could tip the overall scales to making him a failure.
EDIT: That is, until he blows the money and ends up destitute, which would not surprise me at all.
Normally, I'd agree with the "destitute" scenario wherein I'd expect to be reading stories of a down-and-out Jamarcus Russell in a few years.
However, this guy has been dumb as **** about everything BUT money so far.
If the same people who advised him on his contract advised him on how to handle the money he got (and he followed that advice), he'll be laughing all the way to the bank to count his coin for a long time.
Just look at the contract that was negotiated for him. As a result of it, Jamarcus actually collected far more than $31MM.
2007: $2.976MM. Rookie Salary (Guaranteed). Ka-ching!
2008: $19.9MM signing bonus (Guaranteed) paid in various ways plus second year salary of $.370MM for a total of $20.27MM. Ka-ching!
2009: $3.44MM Signing Bonus (Guaranteed); $1.865MM Roster Bonus (contingent on his being on the roster); $7.8MM third year salary ($1.8MM or so guaranteed, but he did have to make the team and stay on the roster to collect the remaining $6.0MM) for a total of $13.105MM. Ka-ching!
2010: Well, he was finally released in May, but he was still owed the final $3MM of the guaranteed portion of his contract on his salary, even though he forwent the remainder ($6.45MM) of his total $9.45MM fourth year salary. Ka-ching!
2011 and 2012: the incentives were mostly backloaded into these seasons, so he really didn't leave a dime of his guarantee on the table.
Total Cash Heisted: $39.351MM.
Part of me wants to throw the lad in prison for criminal irresponsibility and part of me wants to tip my hat to him for taking Al Davis to the cleaners.
The only good thing to come out of this will be an iron clad argument on the part of the owners for limiting rookie salaries.