By Budd Bailey, Buffalo Sports Page Columnist

Ted Washington – Signed by the Bills in 1995

The Bills shelled out a lot of money over six years for the services of Ted Washington. He was a good investment.

This mountain of a man – 6-foot-5 and 375 pounds – started his career with the 49ers. He was traded to Denver for a one-season stop in 1994, and became a free agent. A three-year deal worth $3.3 million got it done.

Washington was a great fit. He never missed a game and made the Pro Bowl in 1997. That was rewarded the following year, when he signed the largest contract in team history at the time –  $27.3 million over five years. When asked about the deal, he replied, “They’re going to get their money’s worth.” Washington turned out to be a man of his word. He was back in the Pro Bowl in 1998 and 2000.

The Bills had cap problems in 2001, and Washington wouldn’t agree to restructure his contract. Buffalo let him go, and he signed with the Bears. Then it was on to New England (where he won a Super Bowl ring), Oakland and Cleveland before he retired at the age of 39.

 

(Follow Budd on Twitter @WDX2BB)

Budd Bailey

Budd Bailey has been involved in almost every aspect of the local sports scene for the last 40 years. He worked for WEBR Radio, the Buffalo Sabres' public relations department and The Buffalo News during that time. In that time he covered virtually every aspect of the area's sports world, from high schools to the Bills and Sabres and everything in between. Along the way, Budd served as a play-by-play announcer for the Bisons, an analyst for the Stallions, and a talk-show host. He won the National Lacrosse League's Tom Borrelli Award as the media personality of the year in 2011, and was a finalist for that same award in 2017. Budd's seventh and eighth books, one on the Transcontinental Railroad and the other about Ichiro Suzuki, are scheduled to be released in the fall.

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