Sam Bradford might be the most disappointing NFL athlete to make the list thus far. While he did have some bright moments throughout his career, Bradford was widely inconsistent making some of his major contract offers undeserving. While he wasn't highly recruited out of high school, he did make his way to the University of Oklahoma (2007-2009) where he instantly made an impact on the field. In 2008. Bradford became the second sophomore ever to win the Heisman Trophy and led the highest-scoring offense in NCAA history throwing for 4,720 yards and scoring 50 touchdowns.
In the 2010 NFL Draft, Sam Bradford was drafted 1st overall by the St. Louis Rams where he signed a record-breaking rookie contract for $78 million, $50 million guaranteed. In 2014, Bradford suffered a torn ACL and was traded to the Eagles where he played a single season for $23.9 million in 2015. Bradford found himself in Minnesota for two seasons and lined his pockets with an additional $25 million. In 2018, Bradford signed a two-year contract with the Arizona Cardinals worth $20 million but was released the same year. Bradford is currently a free agent looking to get onto the field.
When we think of inventors, the image that comes to mind is usually that of a frazzled scientist toiling away in a lab, not celebrities pulled from the pages of Us Weekly. However, a number of well-known public figures hold patents for various innovations. Some are related to the work that made them famous, while others are offshoots of hobbies or just a single great idea.
Part of guitar wizard Eddie Van Halen's signature sound was his two-handed tapping technique, but letting all ten fingers fly while simultaneously holding up the guitar's neck could get a bit tricky. Van Halen came up with a novel way to get around this problem, though; he invented a support (top) that could flip out of the back of his axe's body to raise and stabilize the fretboard so he could tap out searing songs like "Eruption." While Van Halen was obviously interested in improving his guitar work, the patent application he filed in 1985 notes that the device would work with any stringed instrument. Want to tap out a scorching mandolin solo? Find someone selling Eddie's device.
It’s probably not surprising that James Cameron—who designed a submersible to take him to the deepest known part of the ocean—will often invent technology to make his films if what he needs doesn’t exist. He holds a number of patents, including US Patent No. 4996938, “apparatus for propelling a user in an underwater environment,” that he and his brother, Michael, created to film The Abyss and patented in 1989. The device is basically an underwater dolly equipped with propellers that makes it easy for a camera operator to maneuver in the water—and allowed Cameron to capture the shots he wanted for the 1989 film, part of which was filmed in an abandoned nuclear reactor.
In 1987 Jamie Lee Curtis designed and patented a disposable diaper that included a waterproof pocket that held baby wipes. She hasn't profited from her idea yet, though, since she refuses to license the patent until diaper companies make biodegradable products.
You know him as a rock legend, but Neil Young also loves trains—so much that he owns a stake in a model train manufacturing company and has an extensive collection. He also holds seven patents related to model trains, including Patent No. US5441223, "Model train controller using electromagnetic field between track and ground."