The Raiders paid Trent Richardson $600,000 and then cut him before the season even started

When the Cleveland Browns drafted Trent Richardson with the third overall pick in the 2012 draft, he was touted as the best running back prospect to come out of college since Adrian Peterson.

He had just won two national championships at Alabama, earned consensus all-American honors, and rushed for 1,679 yards — good enough for SEC Player of the Year status, too.

Yesterday, the Oakland Raiders announced that they had released Richardson, marking the second time in five months that he has been cut by an NFL team. Through four seasons in the NFL, Richardson has averaged a meager 3.3 yards per carry and rushed for a total of 2,032 yards. After struggling through two disappointing seasons in Cleveland, he was traded to Indianapolis for a 2014 first round draft pick. The Colts cut him this off-season.

And yet, Richardson's struggles somehow haven't prevented him from getting paid. As Pro Football Talk noted, despite the fact that he couldn't make Oakland's final 53-man roster and was only on the team since March, Richardson is still guaranteed $600,000. That's a lot of money for a running back who's most notable play of the preseason was this one: 

What's more, Richardson is also eligible to cash in on the $3.1 million owed to him by the Colts. In two seasons in Indianapolis, he averaged 3.1 yards per carry. In 2013, he fumbled his very first career playoff carry that the Chiefs promptly converted for a touchdown on the ensuing drive. Last season in Indianapolis, he split time with Ahmad Bradshaw but didn't play in the playoffs. 

It's unlikely that we'll see Richardson again in the NFL, but he'll make around $3.7 million this season to not play football. The Colts' and Raiders' front offices will undoubtedly be kicking themselves over him for a while.

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