5. Orlando Brown’s Eye Injury
The main job of a referee in any contact sport is to protect the players’ safety. So when Jim Triplette accidentally struck Brown in the eye with a thrown flag in 1999, he definitely didn’t do his job properly. Brown missed the next three seasons as he tried to rehabilitate.

It was very embarrassing for the NFL who he sued for damages. Finally, he settled for a sum between $15 million and $25 million in 2002. He spent the last three seasons of his career with the Baltimore Ravens. Tragically, he died in 2011 after complications with his diabetes.