NFL Free Agency: Buyer Beware

With free agency officially kicking off this afternoon, it is difficult not to get swept up in the NFL version of March Madness.  With so many big names scheduled to hit the market, it’s not hard to feel like a team is making a move or not solely based off of whom they sign or don’t sign.  Although free agency is very exciting and there is a lot of buzz in the air, it can come with a much higher price tag than what teams really want to pay.  This isn’t even referring to the millions of dollars teams will be paying, but the millions in the future sacrificed by one or two bad decisions.

July 30, 2012; Cortland, NY, USA; Former Jets player Laveranues Coles at the New York Jets practice. Mandatory Credit: William Perlman/THE STAR-LEDGER via USA TODAY Sports

When free agency comes around, we always tend to think of the great signings, Reggie White to Green Bay, Drew Brees to New Orleans and even Deion Sanders to the 49ers.  For every great free agent pickup, there are so many more busts.  A few Bengals in recent years that stand out are both at the wide receiver position, meaning Laveranues Coles, and more forgetfully Antonio Bryant.  To his credit, Coles at least took the field for the Bengals, whereas Bryant was signed for 4 years, $28 million and was cut before the 2010 season.