Hardman was way cheaper than $4M but I don’t believe any was guaranteed or if so very little
Thought I said that?
Hardman "only" cost the Packers $300K + whatever he made during his time on the Practice squad.
Watkins $4M contract became guaranteed once he made the 53.
Funchess's pay from the Packers is hard to follow, since it included him opting to skip the Covid season, time on IR, an agreed salary reduction and maybe an injury settlement. Needless to say, it wasn't money well spent.
I think the main theme with all 3 of these guys was: "A lot of potential, had been in the NFL for awhile, had earned enough money to retire on, were with several teams, never lived up to potential."
Who knows, maybe injuries, age, motivation, poor work ethics, bad fit, low football IQ's, etc. contributed to all 3 fizzling out. Of the 3, I would say Watkins had the most success in the NFL.