Ralph Vacchiano
NFL Reporter
Tens of billions of dollars have been spent on NFL players in free agency in the three-plus decades since it was first introduced to the league. Far too much of it turned out to be ill-conceived, wasteful spending.Â
But many times over the last 32 years, teams struck gold.
Sometimes the gold was found in players who were huge bargains. Sometimes it was the big-money players who lived up to their price. Over 32 years, NFL teams found future Hall of Famers, Super Bowl heroes, and plenty of soon-to-be All-Pros who helped put them over the top, or just turn their franchise’s fortunes around.
Together, those golden hits would’ve made for one impressive team. So here’s a look at the NFL’s All-Time Free Agency Team: The best of the best signings at every position since the start of unrestricted free agency in March 1993:
OFFENSE
Quarterback: Drew Brees, New Orleans Saints
Signed with the Saints in 2006 for six years, $60 million.
He was maybe the greatest free-agent signing in NFL history, considering the position, his accomplishments and his impact on the Saints franchise and city of New Orleans. He was a good quarterback in his first five seasons with the San Diego Chargers, but he wasn’t in high-demand when he bolted in free agency. The Miami Dolphins considered him, but were worried about his shoulder. So the Saints grabbed him and they made each other great. In 15 seasons with the Saints, Brees went to 12 Pro Bowls, won the Offensive Player of the Year award twice, became one of the most prolific passers in NFL history, won a Super Bowl and became a Louisiana legend.
Drew Brees led the Saints to a victory in Super Bowl XLIV.
Running back: Curtis Martin, New York Jets
Signed with the Jets in 1998 for six years, $36 million.
He signed a controversial deal as a restricted free agent that ended up costing the Jets a first- and third-round pick in the 1998 NFL Draft. But the Jets never regretted it after Martin came in and gave them seven straight 1,000-yard seasons, leading them to the playoffs four times and the AFC Championship once in 1998, his first season with the team. He had one of the greatest careers for a running back in NFL history, totaling 10,302 rushing yards in eight seasons in New York on his way to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Wide receiver: Terrell Owens, Dallas Cowboys
Signed with the Cowboys in 2006 for three years, $25 million.
Owens had spent the two previous seasons on a wild ride in Philadelphia, where he helped the Eagles to a Super Bowl one year and got suspended for “conduct detrimental to the team” the next. He was also 32 years old, but the ‘Boys took a chance on him anyway and it paid off like “T.O.” was still in his prime. In three years with the Cowboys, Owens averaged 78 catches for 1,196 yards and 13 touchdowns per season — a stretch as good as any he had earlier in his career in San Francisco.
Wide receiver: Joe Horn, New Orleans Saints
Signed with the Saints in 2000 for four years, $9.9 million.
A former fifth-round pick, Horn had started just two games in his first four NFL seasons with Kansas City and caught just 53 passes for 879 yards. Clearly, though, the Saints saw he was underused. Because after signing with them, he became the No. 1 receiver in New Orleans, topping 1,000 receiving yards in four of the next five years. He went to the Pro Bowl four times too and ended up in the Saints Hall of Fame. And he did it all even though he played just one season — his last in New Orleans — with quarterback Drew Brees.
Wide receiver: Keenan McCardell, Jacksonville Jaguars
Signed with the Jaguars in 1996 for three years, $6 million.
He was a 12th-round pick who had a nomadic, 16-year career that saw him play for seven different franchises. But his second stop, for six years in Jacksonville, was by far his best. After being a bit player for four years in Cleveland, he had 85 catches and more than 1,100 yards in each of his first two seasons with a Jaguars team in just its second year of existence. In all, he topped those numbers in four of his six seasons. He and Jimmy Smith were the Jags’ “Thunder and Lightning” — at the time one of the best receiver duos in the league.
Keenan McCardell was a key cog in Jacksonville’s offense for six seasons.
Tight end: Delanie Walker, Tennessee Titans
Signed with the Titans in 2013 for four years, $17.5 million.
He was a good player in his first seven seasons in San Francisco, but he wasn’t a featured part of the 49ers’ offense and didn’t appear to be a big-time receiving tight end. That changed in Tennessee. He had more than 60 catches in each of his first five seasons, including his brilliant 2015 season when he caught 94 passes for 1,088 yards and six touchdowns in 15 games. In his five seasons before injuries hit, he made the Pro Bowl five times and re-wrote the franchise records for his position.
Left tackle: Andrew Whitworth, Los Angeles Rams
Signed with the Rams in 2017 for three years, $33.8 million.
After 11 seasons in Cincinnati, Whitworth was coming off three of his finest seasons. But he was also about to turn 36 and several NFL teams decided he was too old for a big investment. Not the Rams, though. They jumped at the chance to add him, and he rewarded them with his second first-team All-Pro season. He also stabilized a line that had become a liability and helped them give up 21 fewer sacks in his first season. In his second season, Whitworth and the line helped the Rams reach their first Super Bowl in 17 years. Three years later, in Whitworth’s final season, they’d win their first championship since moving back to Los Angeles.
Right tackle: Jon Runyan, Philadelphia Eagles
Signed with the Eagles in 2000 for six years, $30 million.
After three strong years as a starter with the Tennessee Titans, the Eagles made Runyan the highest-paid offensive lineman of all time. He rewarded them by sliding in at right tackle and staying there for nine straight years without missing a single game. And he did it in an era where he had to fight off the likes of Bruce Smith, Greg Ellis and Michael Strahan twice a year each. He only made one Pro Bowl, but he stabilized a shaky Eagles offensive line and helped Philadelphia reach the NFC Championship Game five times and the Super Bowl once during his tenure.
Left Guard: Steve Hutchinson, Minnesota Vikings
Signed with the Vikings in 2006 for seven years, $49 million.
He was an All-Pro in his final three seasons in Seattle, which is why the Seahawks used the “transition tag” on him to restrict his free agency. But he still got the biggest deal ever given to a guard, thanks to the last “poison pill” contract the NFL allowed before changing their free agency rules. It was a controversial move, but it paid off for the Vikings. Hutchinson was the best guard in football during his first four seasons in Minnesota, being named an All-Pro every season, including three times on the first team.
Steve Hutchinson was one of the NFL’s top guards during his time with the Vikings.
Right Guard: Brandon Brooks, Philadelphia Eagles
Signed with the Eagles in 2016 for five years, $40 million.
He was a really good guard in his four seasons with the Houston Texans. But, as it tends to happen with so many linemen who come to Philadelphia, he became a great guard in his time with the Eagles. He was a four-year starter  before a career-ending injury in 2021 at just 32 years old. He made the Pro Bowl three times and helped anchor the line that powered the Eagles to their first Super Bowl championship in 2017. Only his early retirement kept him from becoming one of the Eagles’ all-time greats.
Center: Kevin Mawae, New York Jets
Signed with the Jets in 1998 for five years, $17 million.
Mawae had started two years at guard in Seattle before the Seahawks moved him to center for two years. That was enough for the Jets to make him the highest-paid center in the league. But even they couldn’t have been sure of what came next. Over the next seven years, Mawae made the Pro Bowl six times and was named an All-Pro six times (including twice on the first team). He became an all-time great Jet, earning a place in their Ring of Honor and eventually a spot in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. And he anchored a line that powered the Jets to four playoff berths in his first seven seasons — an unusual run of success for a star-crossed franchise.
DEFENSE
Defensive end: Reggie White, Green Bay Packers
Signed with Packers in 1993 for four years, $17 million.
The Minister of Defense was the first high-profile free agent and a case could be made that he was the best of all time. He had a brilliant eight years in Philadelphia that included 124 sacks, seven Pro Bowls and a Defensive Player of the Year award. But even though he was 31 when he left, he didn’t fall off much as a Packer. In six years in Green
