The Broncos must be feeling pretty low today on the news that, in deciding to cut Russell Wilson, they're suffering an $85 million dead cap hit for 2024, the largest such deficit in all of NFL history. But cheer up, Denver, for there's an industry where even worse contract debacles have caused even huger financial losses — it's called Hollywood!

Hollywood flops on par with (or worse than) Russell Wilson's Broncos contract

When Russell Wilson's flop of a contract is compared to the biggest blockbuster bombs of all time… well, actually it's still pretty bad, but misery loves company, so let's dig into it!

Madame Web

To give just one recent example, Dakota Johnson has been on the all-out defensive rationalizing the ultimate suck-fest that was Madame Web. With a title that sounds like something Hank Hill would shout at his computer on an episode of King of the Hill (As in, “M'damn web won't work, Peggy!”), the film only goes downhill from there (much like Wilson's early buzz turned quick disappointment in Denver).

It might be too soon to say just how badly Madame Web will bomb with it still being in theaters, but it's safe to assume the figure will be north of Wilson's $85 million figure, so that should help Mile High fans breath easier (oh wait, never mind, forgot about the elevation factor).

The Marvels

Sorry to pick on superhero movies and Marvel so much in particular, but since Madame Web is part of the Sony Superhero Universe and The Marvels is from the Marvel Cinematic Universe, it's fair game, and let's tush push ahead.

The Marvels' reviews were better than Madame Web's but the story just didn't resonate with Marvel's hardcore fanboy base, and the financial damage seems about on par with the web slinger. Estimates predict the loss to Disney will also be north of $85 million, a stat almost as ugly as Russell Wilson's completion rate over the last two seasons.

Gigli

I know we're all loving the reunion of Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez these days, but let's not allow personal feelings to get involved here. After all, we as a society are also quite fond on a personal level of Russell Wilson's marriage to Ciara, but that doesn't make his recent quarterback play any less atrocious.

Similarly, we must remember back to a time in 2023 when Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez were the hottest couple in Hollywood, yet they released the coldest turd of the summer movie season in Gigli.

The head-scratching hot mess of a film's financial torpedoing is hard to compare to Wilson's contract given inflation, but Sony reported to have lost $42 million the quarter Gigli was released, so it's safe to assume with the heavyweight actor deals involved that it lost in the vicinity of $85 million as well.

Waterworld

Some Hollywood bombs make a splash, and others unleash a full-on colossal cannonball. Waterworld is possibly the most infamous blockbuster belly flop of all-time. For all the aquatic records that Avatar has set on the big screen to make the ocean look half-full, this much-publicized disaster of a sea-set film has done the reverse — making the world's collective bodies of water appear glaringly half-empty.

Universal may have tried to save face with the number crunching for Waterworld, so it's tough to pinpoint an exact deficit total, but again, the figure appears to be on par with the football flop of Wilsonworld.

But just as Kevin Costner has rebuilt his career with the recent smash TV hit Yellowstone, so too could Russell Wilson still land on his feet. And if not, hey, at least you're married to Ciara and getting millions of dollars from the Broncos just to leave town, so life is still pretty good.