The 2025 Free Agency Thread

[Boone]

I think the dilemma in modern free agency is, teams try much harder to keep elite talent on their rosters than maybe they used to. So they are already going to be making very lucrative offers. Unless there are other factors to lure a player away, you will almost certainly have to be at or over the top expected money for those type players to successfully sign one.

Other factors we don't always think about that could contribute to a player wanting to come to your franchise (possibly even in the absence of a 'top of the market' offer):

- Previous relationship with a coach
- Locale
- Potential for team to compete for a championship
- Preferences of spouse and family (we almost never consider this factor although I'll bet it's a lot bigger than we would guess)

Money is likely always at or near the top of the equation, but of those 4 other factors, I would say we have greatly increased our franchise attractiveness as a potential FA destination with our coaching staff (Quinn and company seem to be greatly respected among players they have had previous relationships with) and potential for team to compete for a championship (players see what Jayden Daniels future could represent and want to get on the train with him).

Locale isn't our friend. Very few players dream of retiring in the DMV.

And preferences of spouse and family is a total wildcard we can't know much about.

 

[SkinsFTW]

Those things are why it is surprising to me that a Florida team hasn't taken over the league signing a lot of the best guys for cheaper deals. They have the locale, and also the 0% state income tax that is going to be a huge difference compared to a lot of places like NY and California. I'm not sure where Washington pays income tax but I think it would be Maryland.

It's good that we now have the coach that players like, and a winning team that a lot of guys will want to join. Daniels definitely helps a lot, but so does having guys like Wagner and Luvu. I once said that Quinn was another Ron Rivera, I guess that was just a little off lol.

 

[Boone]

He's Ron Rivera. Except he really IS a leader, it's not just slogans. Oh - and he's competent. So there's that lol...

 

[burgold]

He's Ron Rivera. Except he really IS a leader, it's not just slogans. Oh - and he's competent. So there's that lol...

I'm still not sure how much cancer stole from the man. I think he came out of recovery changed. He just didn't have the same fire or demand for discipline. After ringing the bell, he seemed to mostly go through the motions. Not sure if he even realized it. The worst example of this was his final year. I mean it was clear the writing was on the wall in 2023, but he threw in the towel practically before the season started. No fight whatsoever.

Not sure it matters in the long run, but I do sometimes play What If games.

 

[Boone]

Living in Carolina, I can tell you he struggled with many of the same things there that he did in DC. A young, healthy, dynamic Cam Newton under center, Steve Smith at WR, and Luke Kuechly on the other side of the ball, it covers up a lot of marginal coaching. Carolina had a lot of success during the middle years of the Rivera era, I just don't know how much he had to do with it. They had perenially great defenses, but I have to wonder if that wasn't much more about having Sean McDermott as DC for the first 6 seasons. When McDermott left and Cam Newton's physical skills diminished, they returned to being a sub .500 team.

Rivera's a nice man. I think he's at best an average leader and head coach. I'm sure going through cancer wasn't helpful either though.

 

[Kel Varnsen]

Those things are why it is surprising to me that a Florida team hasn't taken over the league signing a lot of the best guys for cheaper deals. They have the locale, and also the 0% state income tax that is going to be a huge difference compared to a lot of places like NY and California. I'm not sure where Washington pays income tax but I think it would be Maryland.

It's good that we now have the coach that players like, and a winning team that a lot of guys will want to join. Daniels definitely helps a lot, but so does having guys like Wagner and Luvu. I once said that Quinn was another Ron Rivera, I guess that was just a little off lol.

In football, the salary cap is the reason why a team in a state tax free state can’t just dominate the signings. I know that those tax laws are more complicated for athletes, and I don’t know or care enough about it and don’t want to derail the thread. But the salary cap in football makes it less about signing the big money and more about signing the smart money. That may mean you pay your superstar a big contract or you sign the top free agent. But you can’t just throw money at whoever is out there, because there is a salary cap. That’s the biggest reason I have optimism with Peters. He has a track record of being smart and making the smart moves, not just the big pay day moves or the “I see something know one else does” moves that we have been accustomed to.

 

[DWinzit]

I have friends and family that are big Panther fans. When Rivera was announced as our new coach, I received their condolences.

They were sick of of him, his dumb decision making and the way at the end of each season they would win 3 out of
4 games and it would save his job for another year after everyone wanted to string him up until late in each season.

 

[HTTR]

Those things are why it is surprising to me that a Florida team hasn't taken over the league signing a lot of the best guys for cheaper deals. They have the locale, and also the 0% state income tax that is going to be a huge difference compared to a lot of places like NY and California. I'm not sure where Washington pays income tax but I think it would be Maryland.

It's good that we now have the coach that players like, and a winning team that a lot of guys will want to join. Daniels definitely helps a lot, but so does having guys like Wagner and Luvu. I once said that Quinn was another Ron Rivera, I guess that was just a little off lol.

I’m sure that’s a consideration for some players, but the high-end players and superstars probably not so much. We’re talking about guys in their 20s making more money than they will ever know what to do with so they might not be worried so much about the tax implications when they choose a team. Those types of players have plenty of options, and are usually going to prioritize a winning situation.

 

[Boone]

I would have to think salaries aren't offered in a vacuum. Whether a team is located in a high tax area or one without state income taxes at all, that's going to be baked into the offer to a certain extent.

 

[Chris]

Players pay state taxes based on the state in which their games are played. So even Florida players are paying those additional taxes no matter where they reside for every game they play outside of Florida. The real winners are the CPAs.

 

[Darrell Green Fan]

Players pay state taxes based on the state in which their games are played. So even Florida players are paying those additional taxes no matter where they reside for every game they play outside of Florida. The real winners are the CPAs.

Yeah I heard from an athlete who explained what a nightmare their taxes are. If you played a game in a state you now have earnings for that state and you need to file a state tax return. Imagine how many states players in the NBA or MLB play in a year.

 

[SkinsOrlando]

As someone who worked in consumer finance for years (now I'm in business lending), athlete's income is a massive pain in the ass, I approved loans for numerous NBA, MLB and NFL players. It's not just the out of state taxes, it's local municipalities. Baseball players get it the worst depending on the division you play in. Also, there's no pay out of season, so when they want to purchase something using credit/loan, no paystubs, can only read off either tax returns (barf) or their actual contract (barf as well due to the language in it) and income waivers for athletes are almost non-existent as sub par credit is very high in professional sports.

There's a reason TB came to Tampa and it wasn't just the team atmosphere, he was tired of getting BF'd paying NY taxes for 2 games a year( guaranteed 2 games against Buff and Jets) plus MA taxes for 8, half your games tax free a definite bonus in FL.

 

[Chris]

As someone who worked in consumer finance for years (now I'm in business lending), athlete's income is a massive pain in the ass, I approved loans for numerous NBA, MLB and NFL players. It's not just the out of state taxes, it's local municipalities. Baseball players get it the worst depending on the division you play in. Also, there's no pay out of season, so when they want to purchase something using credit/loan, no paystubs, can only read off either tax returns (barf) or their actual contract (barf as well due to the language in it) and income waivers for athletes are almost non-existent as sub par credit is very high in professional sports.

There's a reason TB came to Tampa and it wasn't just the team atmosphere, he was tired of getting BF'd paying NY taxes for 2 games a year( guaranteed 2 games against Buff and Jets) plus MA taxes for 8, half your games tax free a definite bonus in FL.

Thanks for the clarification. I was pretty sure local out of state taxes were also a factor but I wasn’t positive.

 

[The Chump Bailey]

I liked DB Pauslon Adebo coming out and he can play FS & CB. I think he would be better at FS personally, at least that's what I thought when he was entering the league. He could be a good addition.

 

[method man]

I think the dilemma in modern free agency is, teams try much harder to keep elite talent on their rosters than maybe they used to. So they are already going to be making very lucrative offers. Unless there are other factors to lure a player away, you will almost certainly have to be at or over the top expected money for those type players to successfully sign one.

Other factors we don't always think about that could contribute to a player wanting to come to your franchise (possibly even in the absence of a 'top of the market' offer):

- Previous relationship with a coach
- Locale
- Potential for team to compete for a championship
- Preferences of spouse and family (we almost never consider this factor although I'll bet it's a lot bigger than we would guess)

Money is likely always at or near the top of the equation, but of those 4 other factors, I would say we have greatly increased our franchise attractiveness as a potential FA destination with our coaching staff (Quinn and company seem to be greatly respected among players they have had previous relationships with) and potential for team to compete for a championship (players see what Jayden Daniels future could represent and want to get on the train with him).

Locale isn't our friend. Very few players dream of retiring in the DMV.

And preferences of spouse and family is a total wildcard we can't know much about.

I think you are underrating locale. There are a lot of players in the league from the DMV. We benefitted from this in the 2020 offseason (the one good FA period Ron had) as it helped us get Logan Thomas, Kendall Fuller, Ronald Darby and others I am not recalling

 

[method man]

I liked DB Pauslon Adebo coming out and he can play FS & CB. I think he would be better at FS personally, at least that's what I thought when he was entering the league. He could be a good addition.

I don't see any reason he should move off being a CB. If he hadn't broken his leg, despite the PIs this year, he would've been a top 20 free agent and he still may get a mulityear deal. If he is open to signing a 1 year deal, I would absolutely love to have him come here...hopefully he has a good relationship with Lattimore and Lattimore could convince him to come here.

 

[burgold]

I think you are underrating locale. There are a lot of players in the league from the DMV. We benefitted from this in the 2020 offseason (the one good FA period Ron had) as it helped us get Logan Thomas, Kendall Fuller, Ronald Darby and others I am not recalling

The locale argument is an interesting one. Often we think in terms fo taxes and climate, but many of these players are young parents so schools might just matter to and the DMV still ranks very high in that regard.

 

[DWinzit]

I don't see any reason he should move off being a CB. If he hadn't broken his leg, despite the PIs this year, he would've been a top 20 free agent and he still may get a mulityear deal. If he is open to signing a 1 year deal, I would absolutely love to have him come here...hopefully he has a good relationship with Lattimore and Lattimore could convince him to come here.

Guys that are capable of playing CB and/or FS are so nice to have.

Another FS I like if they chose to go that route would be Andre Cisco from Jax. I liked him in the draft and he has played well.

 

[method man]

The locale argument is an interesting one. Often we think in terms fo taxes and climate, but many of these players are young parents so schools might just matter to and the DMV still ranks very high in that regard.

True. Maybe it changes now that he has the Cal job but I met Rivera in the area a few months ago. I think I’ve heard that Gruden has a house in the area

The wealthiest county in the country is not a bad place to live

 

[method man]

Guys that are capable of playing CB and/or FS are so nice to have.

Another FS I like if they chose to go that route would be Andre Cisco from Jax. I liked him in the draft and he has played well.

I like Chinn but part of me hopes he leaves and we decide to move Quan into his role and get more of a true FS like Moehrig. I want to see more Quan in the box in the role he played as a rookie vs the free safety sort of role he seemed to play last year. (I'll also take Koonce and Hobbs from the Raiders