A full 24 hours into the legal tampering period, plenty of dollars have been spent. Plenty of players have been paid.
Soon, the money will begin to dry up. Soon, many of the deals done will have a one-year duration.
It’s not unusual. Players who don’t get what they had hoped to get on the open market often settle for a one-year deal, which comes with an opportunity to get a much better multi-year deal the next time around. The best example of that from 2023 to 2024 is quarterback Baker Mayfield, who parlayed a one-year deal with the Bucs into a three-year, $100 million contract to stick around.
Some players already are doing one-year deals in 2024. More will do the same. For some, their careers will become a series of one-year deals.
Keep that in mind while marveling at the nine-figure contracts. Most players won’t do nearly that well. Moving forward, most of them will be grabbing what they can and hoping to do it again in 2025.
