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New Jersey – It’s just a bad year to be a free agent – really bad.
Look at all these one-year contracts players are jumping at.
Tight end Brandon Myers just signed with the New York Giants for one year.
He is coming off a 79-catch season for Oakland, and the Raiders didn’t even offer him a new contract.
So, and his agent, had to scramble to get a one-year deal with the Giants.
I had a chance to interview him on NFL Radio today, and he sounded pissed. Not at joining the Giants, but that the awful free agent process.
Think about it – the guy comes in as a sixth round pick, making very little money. The whole ideal is you play your tail off during your rookie contract, to get rewarded on the second deal.
Not anymore. The owners won the last CBA, in a slam dunk.
And you are seeing the results in free agency.
I know that Willie Colon has had some injuries the last few years, but if he stays healthy, the Jets stole him at one year for $1.2 million.
He’s 29 – a big, tough mauler – a good football player who knows what he’s doing out there. This was a heck of signing by the Jets. Even if he gets hurt, they paid so little, it won’t kill them financially if something happens to him.
Nose tackle Antonio Garay is another good football player – a 6-4, 320 pound mauler, who will likely start for the Jets at nose tackle, and he signed a one-year deal for close to what Colon got.
You get the idea – this is a buyer’s market.
Once pass rusher Antwan Barnes realizes he’s not going to get break the bank, and he takes a deal like Colon and Garay, he will likely be on board also.
I feel bad for the players – the money stinks out there. I know these dollars are a lot for a layman, but not for NFL players, compared to what they were getting before the new CBA.
Aside from the owners keeping the money down under the new CBA, they are loving these one-year contracts.
One-year contracts are a great way to keep the players motivated in a brutally physical sport, where a players motor can amp down a little bit, sometimes, with a huge, long-term contract.
With one-year deals, the player is playing for the next contract.
It’s a great way to keep mercurial players in line. Remember, Santonio Holmes’ best behavior as a Jet was when he was on the last year of his rookie contract, after the Jets acquired him from Pittsburgh, and he was playing for his next contract.
New England’s one-year deal with CB Aqib Talib is brilliant. His off-the-field issues are well-documented. What a great way to keep him in line. He will be playing for a big payday next year.
Look at what is going on with the Jets two starting guards from last year – Brandon Moore and Matt Slauson. They aren’t exactly getting their doors beaten down for their services.
These are two solid football players, and they probably don’t want to play for $1.2 million, or something in that vicinity. After taxes, that is less than a million.
There is no question that a belt tightening is going on around the NFL.
And a lot of players, like Brandon Myers, are pretty bummed.