Albert Haynesworth
Albert George Haynesworth III (born June 17, 1981) is a former American football defensive tackle who played in the National Football League (NFL) for ten seasons. He played college football at the University of Tennessee. Drafted by the Tennessee Titans in the first round (15th overall) of the 2002 NFL Draft, he spent his first seven NFL seasons with the Titans. An All-Pro selection in 2007 and 2008, and considered "the most dominant defensive tackle in the league" at that time, Haynesworth was a highly coveted free agent following the 2008 season. He signed a seven-year, $100 million contract with the Washington Redskins in February 2009, but played less than two full seasons with Washington. The Redskins' acquisition of Haynesworth has since been widely derided as the worst free agent signing in NFL history.
Alfonso Soriano
On December 7, 2005, Soriano was traded to the Washington Nationals in exchange for Brad Wilkerson, Terrmel Sledge, and minor league pitcher Armando Galarraga. On February 10, 2006, Soriano set a record for the highest salary ever awarded in arbitration, receiving $10 million, even though he lost his request of $12 million. The previous high had been set in 2001 by Andruw Jones of the Atlanta Braves when he earned $8.2 million. The Nationals offered Soriano a five-year, $50-million extension, but Soriano rejected the offer. Soriano and his agent Diego Bentz instead opted to open contract negotiations during the off-season, so that he would become a free agent.
On March 20, 2006, Nationals manager Frank Robinson inserted Soriano in the lineup as the left fielder. Soriano, who since 2001 had played exclusively at second base, refused to take the field, and the Nationals organization threatened him with disqualification, which would have meant forfeiture of his salary, and he would not have received credit for service time in fulfillment of the obligations of his contract. With his contract's service terms officially still unfulfilled, he would then have been ineligible for free agency at season's end. Two days later, Soriano relented and played in left field for the Nationals in their exhibition game against the St. Louis Cardinals. Robinson indicated that he considered Soriano's move to left field to be permanent and would not consider moving Soriano back to second base at any point during the season. In his comments following that game, Soriano indicated that he would accept his new position without further argument. As the season got underway, however, Soriano began to enjoy his new position, and by the All-Star break, he led the league in outfield assists and became one of the few players ever to start the All-Star game at two different positions. Soriano, making his fifth consecutive All-Star team, became only the third man to start All-Star games for both leagues at two different positions.