NFL Free Agents 2011: Is Nnamdi Asomugha Worth The Hype?

The latest news regarding Nnamdi Asomugha on the free-agent market is that he will be looking for a deal somewhere between $18-20 million per year. I can imagine that he also will be looking for something that could qualify as a long term.

Hypothetically, at a four-year contract worth $20 million per, the team that signs him to that would be looking at an $80 million investment, and that is on the low side.

I don’t think it’s too far-fetched to assume Asomugha will be asking for a lot more than four years on his contract

So let’s go with six years, $20 million per. That is a grand total of $120 million, not including any incentives.

Is Asomugha worth that?

I know the teams who believe they are in the running for Asomugha are starstruck with visions of lockdown defense and him taking it to the house on every other possession, but I think a realistic take on this whole scenario might be the best way to go about it.

Let’s say Asomugha has an incredible year for whichever team picks him up. Hypothetically, that would entail playing great defense, and let’s say about six to seven interceptions.

If he’s the missing piece that brings you the Lombardi trophy, than sure he was well worth the money. But, what are the chances of Asomugha completely living up to his hype and delivering exactly what he is being paid for?

I think those chances are very small.

Beyond the hype, I think it’s important to realize Asomugha has the ability to completely hamstring a team as far as salary cap and future free agency is concerned.

If you invest that much money in the guy, where is the rest of your money going to go? Not to mention, where is it going to come from?

Finally, I think it’s important to consider the worst-case scenario for a second.

Let’s say,heaven forbid, Asomugha gets hurt.

The truth of the matter is that injury is a definite possibility, and your team could get stuck paying $18-20 million a year for a guy to sit on the bench, or even worse, the IR.

I have a funny feeling that we have all hyped up Asomugha and his free agency because there are simply not a lot of hype-worthy players on the market.

But, how about the lockout, does it come into play at all?

Fans and media have been so desperate for anything that resembles normalcy in football that we may have over-hyped Asomugha because of the pure fact that we have had nothing, and no one else to talk about.

We’ve seen free agents sign for a ton of money and not live up to the hype.

They have ended up hamstringing their teams, and putting them far behind the eight ball as far as future finances are concerned.

May I ask what makes Nnamdi Asomugha so different?

Follow Andrew on Twitter: @AKonSports