Doug Whaley Net Worth 2023: Where Is He Now After Bad 2017 Draft?

Doug Whaley net worth probably took a major plunge after the 2017 NFL Draft. Where is he now? Were his decisions as bad as they say it was?

Four years after the 2017 NFL Draft, former Buffalo Bills General Manager Doug Whaley net worth surely took a major dive. He got fired for bad decisions that took a major toll on the team’s performance for the following season. But were his choices for the team wrong?

For Whaley to be appointed for a powerful position, there’s no doubt that the former Bills GM has impressive achievements. Also, he had fitting qualities that led him to the NFL and be handed a $2.27 billion football team, with the complete confidence of the owners.

Either his actions led the team to a terrible season, or there is more to it that we don’t know about?

But before digging deeper into these NFL-related issues, take note that Doug Whaley net worth is roughly between $5M to $7M during his time with the Bills. After NFL, XFL hired him as SVP of Operations, making Doug Whaley net worth along the lines of $1-5 million.

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A Guarded Secret: How Much Does An NFL Team GM Make?

They are very secretive on how much front office executives, including team manager positions, make in the NFL. An annual cap is imposed to control the amount they can earn in a year.

But we can get a rough idea of Doug Whaley’s net worth as the team GM for the Buffalo Bills. Even with just rough estimations, Doug Whaley’s net worth was indeed amounting to millions based on their pay range and annual salary.

An NFL Team General Manager receives an annual salary of $1M to $3M on average. More successful managers get even more.
The more years of experience, the higher the pay with a difference up to a few million.
Rumor has it that American football coach Bill Belicheck was paid more than $20M a year after picking up the team manager position for the New England Patriots.
Doug Whaley’s successor and Buffalo Bills current General Manager, Brandon Beane, have a base salary of $10.45M plus a $7.5M bonus. He also has a $14M salary cap.
If the current Bills GM, Brandon Beane, has a net salary of over $10M, Doug Whaley net worth is possibly closer to that amount.

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Who is Doug Whaley?

Douglass G. Whaley was born on December 16, 1972, in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania. He attended Upper St. Clair High School, where he got into high school football. He was an average player, but his impressive analytical skills secured his college football team slot.

Whaley played as a defensive back while attending the University of Pittsburgh. His stats were pretty average, summing up to 4 interceptions from 2-yard returns during his tenure.

Working For The Steelers

In 2000, 28-year-old Doug Whaley entered the NFL scene when he became the personnel coordinator for the Pittsburgh Steelers under Director of Football Operations Kevin Colvert.

Whaley played a major part in scouting and drafting defensive players like the 5-star recruit Lamarr Woodley, Troy Polamalu, elected to the Hall of Fame, and Lawrence Timmons, who won the Super Bowl XLIII with the Steelers.

Doug Whaley stayed with the Pittsburgh Steelers until 2010, carrying 11 years of experience with the team, leaving them with the 2006 and the 2009 Superbowl titles.

Taking The Buffalo Bills By The Reins

Doug Whaley stepped into the Buffalo Bills’ pen on February 10, 2010. He was appointed as the team’s Assistant General Manager and Director of Pro Personnel, serving as a right-hand man to the former American football coach, Buddy Nix, the team’s General Manager at the time.

Their work included football-related administrative duties and in the college talent evaluation process. Nix stepped down in 2013, and Whales succeeded him as the new GM.

Doug Whaley was named the new Buffalo Bills General Manager three days after Buddy Nix left the position. NFL.com released an article on this announcement in 2013, where Whaley expressed his interest in drafting quarterback EJ Manuel as part of his first interview as the new head honcho.

Whaley was determined to bring a winning culture back to Buffalo.

Doug Whaley’s Best Moves For The Bills

In 2014, Whaley drafted wide receiver Sammy Watkins during the first round. Watkins was the fourth overall pick during the 2014 NFL Draft.
Whaley also successfully traded 2005 Rookie of the Year Matt Cassel as a backup quarterback.
Whaley traded linebacker Kiko Alonso for All-Pro running back LeSean McCoy, who was with the team for four seasons until 2018.
Agreeing with Buffalo owners, Whaley recruited former football coach and television analyst Rex Ryan as Head Coach.
During Doug Whaley’s tenure with the team, the Bills produced 11 Pro Bowl players and two All-Pro players.

Contract Extension With The Bills

In 2016, Doug Whaley was offered a contract extension by Buffalo Bills’ owners, American Billionaire couple Terry and Kim Pegula – Pegula Sports and Entertainment owners. Whaley had the couple’s complete confidence that with Doug holding the fort and Head Coach Rex Ryan on the field with the team, they would bring sure victories to the Buffalo Bills.

The Pegula’s recognized Doud Whaley’s efforts and exceptional work since his days as assistant to former GM Buddy Nix. They also praised the solid team Whaley built from scratch as General Manager. Terry Pegula expressed his desire to work with Whaley for many more years, and the multi-year contract extension was proof of his confidence in Doug Whaley’s capabilities.

With all the optimism and high hopes for the team’s future, no one expected Buffalo Bills owner Terry Pegula himself to announce that the team is releasing Doug Whaley one year later, right after the 2017 NFL draft process. Pegula’s words were posted on NFL News.

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Doug Whaley: Buffalo Bills 2017 NFL Draft

There were many assumptions as to why Doug Whaley was “relieved of his duties.”. There were controversies involving Whaley in the past, like inexcusable remarks during interviews, and his lack of sensitivity towards

According to The Score news, the top three reasons which led to Whaley’s untimely release from the multi-million contract extension with Buffalo Bills are the following:

Sammy Watkins: Wide Receiver With A Bad Hip

Watkins suffered from a hip injury and a fractured left foot in 2016. This often got him sidelined because he couldn’t keep up with the game. Whaley based his judgment on Watkin’s impressive stats but failed to include the health factor.

Gambling With EJ Manuel In The First Round

Doug Whaley was not oblivious to Sammy Watkins’ health issue; it is more likely that taking Watkins was part of a strategic move because Whaley wanted to draft EJ Manuel, who was part of the first round. From the moment Whaley took the GM position with the Bills, he clearly wanted EJ Manuel on the team. Unfortunately for Whaley, Manuel failed his expectations.

EJ Manuel’s performance was beyond bad; one notable move was passing the ball where there’s not a single one of his teammates within 50 yards from where he was aiming for. Afterward, he was pretty much benched, with Cardale Jones replacing him as the quarterback. Manuel only played a total of five seasons before permanently retiring from the NFL.

Quarterback Tyrod Taylor Could Have Redeemed Whaley, BUT!

Instead of giving his much-deserved credit by upgrading his contract to veteran level due to the sudden surge in his performance in the field, Whaley and the rest of the decision-making bodies under the GM practically chose to let the promising quarterback walk away along with their hopes of redemption from several bad judgments from the 2017 NFL Draft.

Doug Whaley Net Worth – Closing Thoughts

Doug Whaley had a lot of ups and downs in his career. His strategies and deciding factors are all based on statistics and records of prior performances. This worked for Whaley for most of his career until his process failed him.

Doug Whaley net worth took a definite nosedive from the $5M average he maintained as a force behind many NFL teams. According to ESPN, he served as Senior Vice President of Football Operations for the XFL after being hired in 2018 until the league’s indefinite suspension in 2020.

There is also no update on Doug Whaley net worth; it is currently estimated to be between $1-5 million. Plus, he doesn’t seem to be tied to any sports organization at the moment.