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Most Overrated Athletes Ever!
Athletes are some of the most influential people in the world, and they mean so much to their respective communities. But what makes them larger than life is when they achieve unprecedented success as either an individual or for the team they lead.
However, the perception of success does not actually mean they were special. Many happen to play an influential position and ride on the coattails of their equally talented teammates, but the illusion of greatness somehow sticks. These are the most overrated athletes in sports history.
Sure, Joe Namath was a showman, but does he actually deserve the amount of attention he still receives? He’s known for calling his win in Super Bowl III, but over his career he had 173 touchdowns and 220 interceptions. That’s just not a good enough ratio to be listed among the greats.
Dempsey is often considered to be one of the greatest boxers of all time, but his career just doesn’t live up to that hype. He won his first heavyweight title from Jess Willard, who was 37 years old at the time. Dempsey then only managed to defend the title 5 times before losing it in a rout by Gene Tunney.
During his career, Dallas fans were always optimistic about the Romo led squad. However, each year they were let down. Whether it was an injury or just a bad interception, Romo would always manage to tear out the heart of his city.
The diminutive shortstop managed to win MVP during the 1950, but that was by far the peak of his career. He only managed a .273 average over 13 seasons, and he finished with only 2 seasons with over 100 runs. Rizzuto is the definition of “meh,” but he’s a Yankee, so he must be good…
Tony Perez is a Hall of Famer, but his 23 year career seems like the only reason why. Over his career, he managed to hit .279 with 72 RBIs per season.Not exactly spectacular numbers, but not awful considering his career length.
Swann is held up as one of the great receivers, but his 37 catch per season average, and two seasons with double digit touchdowns, would beg to differ with that assessment. Was Lynn Swann a good receiver? Definitely! Does he deserve his current position in football history? Not at all.
Dion is often held up as an elite player, but he has been awful in the postseason, and his point totals have decreased steadily throughout his career. Elite? Think again.
This is an interesting case because De La Hoya has become a massive draw for the boxing world, and he is a pop culture legend. However, the fact of the matter is, he’s just a good boxer.He lost many big fights, so his reputation is far greater than his actual skill.
After becoming the first female driver to win an Indy Car Race, Danica’s career hasn’t kept up with her notoriety. Since her move to Nascar, she has never won a race, and she’s finished in the top 10 only 3 times. She’s a decent driver, but at this point, she’s the definition of overrated.
Mikan was one of the early big men in basketball, but that’s really his only feature that stands out. At the time, being 6’10″ made him stand out significantly, and this height advantage really boosted his numbers to absurd levels.
Johnny Damon ended his career with a respectable .284 average, but he was never a power hitter. Some moderate speed helps his case, but his terrible defense makes him decidedly overrated. Sadly, he may make the Hall of Fame.
The Human Highlight Film was one of the best dunkers in NBA history, but he just isn’t much more than that. Nique was a great scorer, but he couldn’t shoot from deep, and he never managed to get the Hawks past the second round of the playoffs.
To his credit, Pavel was a brilliant offensive player. However, he refused to play defense, and this alone makes him overrated. It’s simply impossible to be a great player if you hang your teammates out to dry on every play.
There is no doubt that Beckham was a good player, but his move to the LA Galaxy demonstrates why he was so overrated. His contract was so big that it crippled the team for years, and this is simply of a case of a player getting more than he’s worth.
Mosley talked big, but throughout his career, he didn’t beat any of the top tier boxers in the game. When he faced elite talent, he was simply beaten down.
James Worthy is a very good player, but he never played on a team that didn’t have a legend as the top guy. Would worthy really be a Hall of Fame caliber player without playing alongside the likes of Magic Johnson? This is something we’ll never know.
Deion Sanders is one of the best cover corners in NFL history, but he was always a poor tackler. At the age of 32, he asked for $56 million from the Redskins. Deion simply bought into his own hype.
Pete Rose was a solid player, but his lead in hits is as much due to the amount of at-bats he had, as it is to his skill. Rose was also below average defensively, and those two reasons combine to show why he isn’t quite what he’s hyped to be.
Gretzky called him the greatest goaltender in NHL history, but throughout his career, Fuhr’s save percentage was only .877. This is only slightly above league average. He certainly deserves his place as an all time great, but the best seems to be a bit of a stretch.
Andy Murray is definitely a great player, but his legend has outstripped his actual accomplishments. In 2016 he managed to earn a slam title without facing the top player like Djokovic. Nothing wrong with Murray, but he doesn’t deserve his #1 position.
Ryan was a very flashy pitcher, but he had a few flaws. Over his career, he barely has a win percentage of over 50%. He also allowed baserunners at a clip that was less than elite. His stuff deserves acknowledgement, but he never even won a Cy Young.
He’s a fantastic scorer, but he never learned how to play defense. This is why he will never win a championship. It’s just too late for Melo to develop that side of his game at this point in his career.
Early in his career, McCabe was a well rounded defenseman, but his defense spiraled quickly as he aged. This left teams with a solid scorer, but an over the top contract, considering his skills.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. is a good driver, but with only 26 wins in 606 races, he is decidedly not elite. The media absolutely loves the story of him walking in the footsteps of his father, but let’s be realistic here.
Antoine Walker was supposed to lead the Celtics to glory, but he just wasn’t that good. 20+ points per game seems good on paper, but he barely shot 40% from the field, so the point totals were based completely on the amount of shots he took.
Alstott is likely the most popular fullback of all time. Let’s be real though, fullbacks are only as good as the rest of their team. Alstott dominated the goal line, but his team got him there, and he plowed the ball in. He’s a great fullback, but the scoring is completely circumstantial.
The Steelers had some of their best year ever under Bradshaw, but he only had a 70.9 QB rating for his career. To put it in perspective, this is lower than Kaepernick. Does Bradshaw deserve to be a Hall of Famer? You tell me.
However, the perception of success does not actually mean they were special. Many happen to play an influential position and ride on the coattails of their equally talented teammates, but the illusion of greatness somehow sticks. These are the most overrated athletes in sports history.
Joe Namath
Sure, Joe Namath was a showman, but does he actually deserve the amount of attention he still receives? He’s known for calling his win in Super Bowl III, but over his career he had 173 touchdowns and 220 interceptions. That’s just not a good enough ratio to be listed among the greats.
Jack Dempsey
Dempsey is often considered to be one of the greatest boxers of all time, but his career just doesn’t live up to that hype. He won his first heavyweight title from Jess Willard, who was 37 years old at the time. Dempsey then only managed to defend the title 5 times before losing it in a rout by Gene Tunney.
Tony Romo
During his career, Dallas fans were always optimistic about the Romo led squad. However, each year they were let down. Whether it was an injury or just a bad interception, Romo would always manage to tear out the heart of his city.
Phil Rizzuto
The diminutive shortstop managed to win MVP during the 1950, but that was by far the peak of his career. He only managed a .273 average over 13 seasons, and he finished with only 2 seasons with over 100 runs. Rizzuto is the definition of “meh,” but he’s a Yankee, so he must be good…
Tony Perez
Tony Perez is a Hall of Famer, but his 23 year career seems like the only reason why. Over his career, he managed to hit .279 with 72 RBIs per season.Not exactly spectacular numbers, but not awful considering his career length.
Lynn Swann
Swann is held up as one of the great receivers, but his 37 catch per season average, and two seasons with double digit touchdowns, would beg to differ with that assessment. Was Lynn Swann a good receiver? Definitely! Does he deserve his current position in football history? Not at all.
Dion Phaneuf
Dion is often held up as an elite player, but he has been awful in the postseason, and his point totals have decreased steadily throughout his career. Elite? Think again.
Oscar De La Hoya
This is an interesting case because De La Hoya has become a massive draw for the boxing world, and he is a pop culture legend. However, the fact of the matter is, he’s just a good boxer.He lost many big fights, so his reputation is far greater than his actual skill.
Danica Patrick
After becoming the first female driver to win an Indy Car Race, Danica’s career hasn’t kept up with her notoriety. Since her move to Nascar, she has never won a race, and she’s finished in the top 10 only 3 times. She’s a decent driver, but at this point, she’s the definition of overrated.
George Mikan
Mikan was one of the early big men in basketball, but that’s really his only feature that stands out. At the time, being 6’10″ made him stand out significantly, and this height advantage really boosted his numbers to absurd levels.
Johnny Damon
Johnny Damon ended his career with a respectable .284 average, but he was never a power hitter. Some moderate speed helps his case, but his terrible defense makes him decidedly overrated. Sadly, he may make the Hall of Fame.
Dominique Wilkins
The Human Highlight Film was one of the best dunkers in NBA history, but he just isn’t much more than that. Nique was a great scorer, but he couldn’t shoot from deep, and he never managed to get the Hawks past the second round of the playoffs.
Pavel Bure
To his credit, Pavel was a brilliant offensive player. However, he refused to play defense, and this alone makes him overrated. It’s simply impossible to be a great player if you hang your teammates out to dry on every play.
David Beckham
There is no doubt that Beckham was a good player, but his move to the LA Galaxy demonstrates why he was so overrated. His contract was so big that it crippled the team for years, and this is simply of a case of a player getting more than he’s worth.
Shane Mosley
Mosley talked big, but throughout his career, he didn’t beat any of the top tier boxers in the game. When he faced elite talent, he was simply beaten down.
James Worthy
James Worthy is a very good player, but he never played on a team that didn’t have a legend as the top guy. Would worthy really be a Hall of Fame caliber player without playing alongside the likes of Magic Johnson? This is something we’ll never know.
Deion Sanders
Deion Sanders is one of the best cover corners in NFL history, but he was always a poor tackler. At the age of 32, he asked for $56 million from the Redskins. Deion simply bought into his own hype.
Pete Rose
Pete Rose was a solid player, but his lead in hits is as much due to the amount of at-bats he had, as it is to his skill. Rose was also below average defensively, and those two reasons combine to show why he isn’t quite what he’s hyped to be.
Grant Fuhr
Gretzky called him the greatest goaltender in NHL history, but throughout his career, Fuhr’s save percentage was only .877. This is only slightly above league average. He certainly deserves his place as an all time great, but the best seems to be a bit of a stretch.
Andy Murray
Andy Murray is definitely a great player, but his legend has outstripped his actual accomplishments. In 2016 he managed to earn a slam title without facing the top player like Djokovic. Nothing wrong with Murray, but he doesn’t deserve his #1 position.
Nolan Ryan
Ryan was a very flashy pitcher, but he had a few flaws. Over his career, he barely has a win percentage of over 50%. He also allowed baserunners at a clip that was less than elite. His stuff deserves acknowledgement, but he never even won a Cy Young.
Carmelo Anthony
He’s a fantastic scorer, but he never learned how to play defense. This is why he will never win a championship. It’s just too late for Melo to develop that side of his game at this point in his career.
Bryan McCabe
Early in his career, McCabe was a well rounded defenseman, but his defense spiraled quickly as he aged. This left teams with a solid scorer, but an over the top contract, considering his skills.
Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. is a good driver, but with only 26 wins in 606 races, he is decidedly not elite. The media absolutely loves the story of him walking in the footsteps of his father, but let’s be realistic here.
Antoine Walker
Antoine Walker was supposed to lead the Celtics to glory, but he just wasn’t that good. 20+ points per game seems good on paper, but he barely shot 40% from the field, so the point totals were based completely on the amount of shots he took.
Mike Alstott
Alstott is likely the most popular fullback of all time. Let’s be real though, fullbacks are only as good as the rest of their team. Alstott dominated the goal line, but his team got him there, and he plowed the ball in. He’s a great fullback, but the scoring is completely circumstantial.
Terry Bradshaw
The Steelers had some of their best year ever under Bradshaw, but he only had a 70.9 QB rating for his career. To put it in perspective, this is lower than Kaepernick. Does Bradshaw deserve to be a Hall of Famer? You tell me.
