Defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh signed a $114.38 million contract with the Dolphins. (J Pat Carter, The Associated Press)
This year will go down as having one of the wildest NFL free-agent periods in recent history, with 153 total signings.
As earlier this week, at least six teams were forced to spend big bucks to avoid a penalty because of the collective bargaining agreement.
The CBA that was agreed upon by the league and players in 2011 requires teams to reach a minimum salary-cap threshold (89 percent of cash spent) from 2013-16. Which meant the Jaguars, Raiders, Titans, Eagles, Browns and Jets had to hand out big contracts to players who may not have received such hefty paychecks.
But as surprising as some of those deals may have been, the total figures provided by the NFL Players’ Association for the 2015 free-agent period so far are more astounding. To wit:
- : Total contract value of the 153 free-agent signings
- : Total guaranteed money in the 153 free-agent signings
- : Unrestricted free agents who signed with new teams (guaranteed: $644,104,999; total value: $1,413,501,620)
- : Unrestricted free agents who re-signed with current teams (guaranteed: $144,387,000; total value: $389,320,000)
The four teams that spent the least from 2013-14: Oakland (80.16 percent), New York Jets (80.97 percent), Jacksonville (82.24 percent) and New England (82.82 percent). Those four teams have collectively accounted for the following in this year’s free-agent period so far:
- 30 percent: of guaranteed money
- 27 percent: of total contracts
- 24 percent: of first-year cash
All figures are through March 24.
