An athlete, with a guaranteed contract, whose talent level has severely declined but is still on their team's active roster because cutting them would impact the team's salary cap more than retaining them would. Paycheck players often check out during games and don't pull their full effort into their performance knowing that they're only viewed as dead weight for their team by fans and management. They nonetheless show up and put in minimal effort to keep up appearances and continue to get overpaid.
At this point in his career, Kirk Cousins is nothing more than a paycheck player for the Minnesota Vikings at quarterback.
by Stang September 20, 2020