Divergent Trends of the NFL Free Agent Market

With so many NFL teams having key needs and so few marquee players entering the free agent market, competition for the available free agents has been stiff and requires front offices around the league to pay more than the usual due diligence to find the right players, as well as the right deal to improve the team on the field - and still keep the books balanced as teams approach the NFL draft.

 

Many teams, such as the Indianapolis, eschew the free agent market almost entirely, preferring to focus their energy on the draft and developing players from within the system. However, for most of the teams in the league, that is not a a viable option. Especially for teams such as the Dolphins, Jets, and Falcons - which are undergoing internal restructuring, scheme changes and player-personnel renovations - the free agent signing period offers an opportunity to restock the shelves with players who are proven, or at least known quantities in the league, rather than gambling so much on rookie players in the draft.

 

Cleveland has invested the future of the franchise in the free agency market, by being very active in swapping draft picks for current players in order to rebuild a defense that was a small step away from terrible. This seems to be a reversal of policy from last year when the Browns were aggressive in the draft.

 

Philosophies abound as to the reason why players leave their teams, why they sign with certain teams and eschew others. There are a myriad of forces that effect player decisions, money being the most obvious, but agents have relationships with front office management, players have family needs, location preferences and the desire for either flexibility or security out of their contracts.

 

Additionally, certain organizations have accrued reputations for being better to players than others. The front offices of the Chicago Bears and Atlanta Falcons are a good example of franchises that have had adversarial relationships with several players and agents over the years, a reputation for using the dreaded franchise tag to trap players, as well as recent high-profile players desiring to leave the organization, which may be a deterring factor for free agents sign there.

 

On the other end of the spectrum are the Kansas City Chiefs, Dallas Cowboys, and Baltimore Ravens - who have built a player-oriented culture, in which players often cite "feeling valued" or "respect from management" as reasons why they resign or gravitate to certain clubs more than others.

 

Most of the teams in the NFL fall somewhere in the middle of the spectrum. 

 

So why do players sign the places they do? Randy Moss certainly could have drawn more money than New England was willing and able to give him, but after a record setting year, and making it to his first Superbowl, Moss has said that he is most interested in playing for a contender, and he felt New England and Tom Brady gave him the best chance at success. Asante Samuel and Randal Gay (players the Pats would have loved to re-sign) both left in favor of more lucrative deals with other teams, though neither broke the bank in Philly or New Orleans.

 

Examining some of the players who signed free agent deals this year puts the spot light on certain archetypal reasons for players to choose the options which they do.

 

Calvin Pace had career year with the Arizona Cardinals last year, making the conversion from DE to OLB in Arizona's multi-front system. Pace hit the free agent market  looking like a prize for several teams that are making the conversion to a 3-4 front and need conversion OLBs. Among them the Dolphins and Jets, where he eventually signed. So why did Pace take to the road? Pace was playing in Arizona due to other player's injuries, and was not going to hold onto his starting job after three years of underachieving. Pace looked good in the Cardinals system and played well at OLB, so he shopped the teams who were making the switch and had money to spend on a player who posted good numbers the previous year. Pace needed to leave Arizona to capitalize on his career year, and draw money equal or greater than players with several good years on their resume. Will Pace be able to replicate his success in New York? The answer to that question is a gamble that the Jets seemed willing to put a lot of money into. Pace took the money while it was available, capitalizing on the lack of other players at his position and the momentum of a high caliber performance in the last year of his contract.

 

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