The 2026 Free Agency Thread

skinsinparadise said:
Roseman is elite. But he also has an elite owner. I like Harris a lot so no issue with him. But I've read multple times that Lurrie isn't limited by a cash budget so I gather that helps Roseman.

www.cbssports.com

Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie explained his business philosophy, and it's not about money

Lurie says he doesn't care about his year-to-year profits
www.cbssports.com www.cbssports.com

The Philadelphia Eagles have been one of the NFL's most successful franchises throughout Jeffrey Lurie's tenure as the team's owner. Lurie bought the team in 1994, and since then it has won 11 division titles, made the playoffs 19 times, made four trips to the Super Bowl and won the championship twice -- including this season.

During this most recent decade since general manager Howie Roseman re-took control of the front office, the Eagles have been even more successful. Since 2017, the Eagles have made the playoffs in seven of eight seasons, gone to the Super Bowl three times and won it twice. They are, by all accounts, a model NFL franchise, and have been for essentially the entire time he's owned the team.

And Lurie's business sense has been a big part of the team's success. His willingness to spend money up front in signing bonuses and option bonuses has helped Roseman run the team in a way that allows him to be aggressive in adding talent. And that's because Lurie's business sense is more about football than it is about money.

"You're obviously trying to run a sound business, but I think success is determined by your success on the field and your success in the community," Lurie said, via Sports Illustrated. "And so anything you can do to maximize those two, the value of the team is going to be appreciated more by your performance and your reputation in the community than anything else. It's not going to be the EBITDA in a certain year, or two or three or four.

....Lurie's willingness to spend up front cash means that they don't worry about things like dead money on their books. Philly paid out over $63 million in dead money in 2024, according to Spotrac, and yet still spent the fifth-most active cash in the league at over $255 million. And they don't worry about things like "we paid James Bradberry or Bryce Huff or [insert Player X here] a lot of money and so they have to get a lot of playing time." They'll cut a player or make him inactive for the biggest game of the season.

Ownership is the biggest competitive advantage in sports, and Lurie's willingness to think long term is why the Eagles have one.
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I mean, it is extraordinary rare that there is no cash budget for any organization.

The thing is, Harris spent the 4th amount of cash this off season. That’s a pretty good chunk of change.

I think Roseman’s genius is more that he knows how to cut bate and run if something isn’t working, or more correctly, isn’t going to work.
 
Voice_of_Reason said:
I mean, it is extraordinary rare that there is no cash budget for any organization.

The thing is, Harris spent the 4th amount of cash this off season. That’s a pretty good chunk of change.

I think Roseman’s genius is more that he knows how to cut bate and run if something isn’t working, or more correctly, isn’t going to work.
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He does. But Lurrie helps. I've read multiple articles on it.

Though Harris is climbing in cash spending -- ranked 19th in 2024, 18th in 2025, and now up to 12th in 2026.

But no doubt Roseman's skills are well beyond have Lurrie as an owner.

And Harris has been great in his own way, he's classy, upgraded facilities and of course landed the stadium in DC.

But I did notice when the 76ers let go of their GM, Myers-Harris were grilled on whether he's willing to spend enough and why do they keep avoiding the luxury taxes unlike other contenders. Having said that, I do think Harris has been great but its possible that while he likely keeps spending more than most, he might night be a top 5 type. etc,


Go to sixers
r/sixers•26d ago
IU_Kydo


Josh Harris Has Owned the Sixers for 15 Years and Has Barely Paid Luxury Tax (Only Twice)​


Since buying the team in 2011, Josh Harris and the Sixers have only paid luxury tax in two seasons (2020-21 and 2021-22), with a total bill around $40M across 15 years.
For context:
  • Many contenders pay $50M–$170M in a single season
  • Traded Jared McCain partly to stay under the tax again this year
  • Harris is a multi-billionaire who owns the Commanders and Devils
He’s said he’s willing to pay when it’s time to win, but that time never seems to come.
Ownership treats this as a business that needs to stay profitable rather than going all-in for a championship.
 
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Voice_of_Reason said:
Maybe but they did spend the 4th amount of cash this off season, which isnt overly conservative.
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This does nothing for me. They are still way under the salary cap and spending less than pretty much every team. It only appears they spent a decent amount this off-season because they had so many holes to fill to replace all the one-year contracts.

Bottom line is that as it stands we are spending less for on field talent than our competitors. And many of them are using restructures and cap maneuvering tricks to spend even more. We can argue back-and-forth about which players we are acquiring all day long, but until we are going all in on talent every year like our competitors, it’s hard for me to feel like we are prioritizing winning.

I like AP, I really do, and I’m not even sure whether it’s on him or cheap ownership. But at the end of the day we are on pace to go through Jayden‘s entire rookie contract without even once leveraging the salary cap advantage it gives us. Absurd.
 
HTTR said:
This does nothing for me. They are still way under the salary cap and spending less than pretty much every team. It only appears they spent a decent amount this off-season because they had so many holes to fill to replace all the one-year contracts.

Bottom line is that as it stands we are spending less for on field talent than our competitors. And many of them are using restructures and cap maneuvering tricks to spend even more. We can argue back-and-forth about which players we are acquiring all day long, but until we are going all in on talent every year like our competitors, it’s hard for me to feel like we are prioritizing winning.

I like AP, I really do, and I’m not even sure whether it’s on him or cheap ownership. But at the end of the day we are on pace to go through Jayden‘s entire rookie contract without even once leveraging the salary cap advantage it gives us. Absurd.
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They rank 12th in cash spending. Dallas is No. 1. Philadelphia is No. 5. The Giants are No. 10.

And before anyone jumps down my throat, let me repeat what I've said many times: I like Harris. I like Peters. I was pushing for both of them long before they got here. But this doesn't have to be an all-or-nothing conversation where you either love every decision they make or you're somehow against the regime.

There should be room for nuance. Pointing out areas where you'd like to see more aggression doesn't mean you're rooting against the team, hoping to be proven right, or looking for reasons to complain. It means you're invested. lol, I want a SB and soon. And I think they can do it.

As for wanting to be right, I couldn't care less. I just want to win. I think that's true for all of us. And if we're being honest, everyone who follows this stuff has opinions that end up looking brilliant one year and foolish the next. That's the nature of the NFL. If any of us were batting 1.000 on personnel decisions, we'd be working for a front office instead of debating it on message boards.

At the core, my position is simple: maximize Jayden's rookie contract window. They were aggressive this offseason. I'd give them a B, maybe a B+. But I wouldn't call it all-in.

Part of the reason they consistently rank high in free-agent spending is because they're operating on so many one-year deals. When you churn a significant portion of the roster every offseason, you have to spend money just to replace departing players and fill out the depth chart. New faces come in, veterans leave, and the cycle repeats. We'll probably see the same thing next year.

As for the point from a 76ers fan about Harris saying he'll spend more when the team is ready, I'm not sure if that's a direct quote. What I do know is that his 76ers are currently seventh in payroll. So it's not as if he's afraid to invest.

That brings me back to what I've said before. I believe Harris is willing to spend. I expect Washington to be a big spender under his ownership. But there's a difference between being a big spender and being one of the most aggressive organizations in football. Right now they're 12th.

When your franchise quarterback is costing roughly $10 million against the cap, that's the time to step on the gas. Because that advantage doesn't last forever. In a few short years, Jayden could be carrying a $60-65 million cap number. Once that happens, every roster decision becomes harder.
 
ES1974 said:
Aiyuk rocking the Washington cap now……
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This is exceedingly dumb... that said, it does make me laugh to think about pissing off Shanahan and Lynch LOL

⬇️ 😂

1780677918756.png
 
All he had to do was show up to voluntary OTA’s and start talking to local media, then Kyle cancelled mandatory OTA’s, so he lost that next chance

Really feels like he doesn’t actually want to play football again
 
I'm sure it's a total coincidence SF is the only team that canceled their mandatory June minicamp. 'Cause surely Lynch and Shanahan ain't THAT petty, right?

It was supposedly a reward for 100% attendance at the voluntary OTAs last week. But it wasn't really 100%, was it, because Aiyuk wasn't there and he's still on the roster.

I'm sure there's no way Aiyuk's agent (yes, he still has one) told SF that he finally cornered BA and the wackadoodle promised he'd show up for minicamp next week - which would have forced their hand. This way, SF gets to keep stringing Aiyuk along on their little revenge tour.

Feels like this should make it a no-brainer for Peters to tell JD5, look, we can't wait any longer, we'll try to do something if SF ever releases your BFF - and go sign Diggs for crying out loud. I'm tired of hearing Quinn's coach-speak about how everything is rainbows and lollipops in the WR room.
 
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I mean everyone is definitely speculating that it’s about Aiyuk lol but is losing multiple practices with your whole squad, new rookies, etc. really worth fucking over one dude? I can’t imagine the org would be okay with that

The thought is funny but feels extreme even for this weird situation
 
As John Travolta says in Pulp Fiction 'Sure, it sounds extreme. But that doesn't mean it didn't happen' :)
 
Boone said:
As John Travolta says in Pulp Fiction 'Sure, it sounds extreme. But that doesn't mean it didn't happen' :)
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He lost all his SF privileges lol
 
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I’m not entirely sure that Aiyuk is in a place that would allow a positive experience for him.

This is a one of a kind situation.

And even if he is going to wind up with us, the hat and football is a bit much.

But… there are things we don’t know behind the scenes, too. So who knows.
 
First of all, there's no way he's going to 'jail' for posting a video speeding. He'll pay a fine and go on his way. We finally have a roster that is relatively knucklehead free, so I'm not sure I am that excited about bringing one in. He seems to love the drama. I will say this. He's got some of the biggest hands I've ever seen on a WR, lol...
 
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