Is Albert Haynes-worth the Money?

Free agent defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth hit the NFL jackpot courtesy of the Washington Redskins and owner Daniel Snyder. But is he worth $100 million??

Before I break this down, I must admit I was shocked by the news—not that Haynesworth bagged the money, but that he landed in Washington. The Redskins seemingly weren’t in the running because of their awful salary-cap situation.

But give credit (for once) to Snyder, Vinny Cerrato, and salary cap guru Eric Schaffer.  They targeted Haynesworth as one of their top two free agent priorities—resigning DeAngelo Hall being the other—and they executed all the necessary roster and contractual juggling to make it a reality.

I can already sense all the Snyder-haters/bashers foaming at the mouth, ready to blast him on the comment board.  But before you do, hear me out.

So back to the question, is Big Al worth a staggering $100 mill?

Well, in a free-market economy determined by supply and demand, you are worth whatever somebody is willing to pay you.

So, from this perspective, Haynesworth is clearly worth nine figures because reports indicate that six actual suitors were bidding on his services upon the opening of free agency.

Unlike the numerous free agency debacles in the past that have become a painful signature of the Snyder-led Redskins era, this signing is different. Washington didn’t vastly overpay for Haynesworth and he’s not past his prime. 

Albert was gonna hit the lottery somewhere and he picked Washington among similar offers. 

So score one for Snyder and crew. No Lombardi trophies yet, but they wine and dine free agents with the best of ‘em. Once again, Washington cements its status as world champions of the NFL offseason.

Looking closer at the contract, the correct questions isn’t whether big 92 is worth $100 million, because he likely won’t see the final three years of the seven-year contract he inked last Friday.

According to ESPN’s Chris Mortensen, league sources told him “that a $29 million ‘poison pill’ in the fifth year of Haynesworth's contract effectively makes it a four-year deal worth $48 million.”

If this is true, I can live with that. The nature of free agency requires teams to overpay players. Keeping this reality in mind, acquiring arguably the NFL’s most dominant interior lineman at $12 million per season at the prime age of 27 isn’t so stomach turning.

Yes, it’s still a huge sum of money for one player when you’re more than one player away from being a Super Bowl contender, but Haynesworth’s addition dramatically changes the dynamic of the entire defensive roster and his ripple effect potentially makes every player on that side of the ball better.

So here’s the best-case scenario of the “Haynesworth Effect"...

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