If it seemed as if NFL teams have been shedding contracts nearly as fast as signing them in recent weeks that’s because it’s almost true.
With a shrinking salary cap in a sport with few contracts that are fully guaranteed, teams have spent the weeks leading up to free agency and the first few days of the new league year getting out of deals signed in recent years when there was more money available to spend.
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Defensive lineman Ndamukong Suh has agreed to a one-year contract worth $9 million to remain with the Super Bowl champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers, a person familiar with the deal told The Associated Press.
The person spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity Wednesday because the agreement, as well as a salary-cap friendly extension given to offensive lineman Donovan Smith, had not been announced by the Bucs.
BOSTON (AP) — The Patriots have agreed to terms on a contract with free agent receiver Kendrick Bourne.
His agent, Henry Organ of Disruptive Sports, says the deal is for three years and could be worth as much as $22.5 million. New contracts can't officially be signed until the league year begins on Wednesday.
Long-term success is built through the draft, though teams can gain an edge toward winning a championship by supplementing their roster in free agency.
Look no further than the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who, of course, signed Tom Brady last year. Brady led the Bucs to their second Super Bowl title and his seventh.
Tampa Bay coach Bruce Arians called Brady the “missing piece” for a team that had won seven games in 2019 and hadn’t reached the playoffs since 2007.
Tom Brady doesn't merely lead teams to Super Bowl wins on the field. He also helps keep together championship teams that have salary cap issues.
So sackmaster Shaq Barrett, fellow standout linebacker Lavonte David and old buddy Rob Gronkowski will remain in Tampa Bay.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The cash-strapped Kansas City Chiefs made their first big first move to rebuild their offensive line Monday, agreeing with Joe Thuney on a five-year contract to provide a durable plug-and-play option at one of their interior positions.
Dak Prescott got his big contract worthy of a franchise quarterback, while big-play receivers Chris Godwin and Allen Robinson got slapped with franchise tags.
Before the new league year and annual spending spree started, many of the top players at the premium positions were once again kept off the open market.
CLEVELAND (AP) — The Browns won't be chasing a quarterback in free agency. They aren't stressing over which one to take in the NFL draft or looking to make a trade.
For once, they appear to be set at QB.
Baker Mayfield has brought wins, change and calm to Cleveland.
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are open to giving Tom Brady a contract extension.
General manager Jason Licht reiterated Wednesday that the Super Bowl champions would like to keep the 43-year-old quarterback in uniform for as long as Brady wants to play. Licht declined to characterize any conversations the team’s had about that prospect.
CHICAGO (AP) — Trae Young was tough to stop in his first two NBA seasons. Surrounded by more talent than ever before, he could become a nightmare for the league in his third year.
Young scored 37 points and the revamped Atlanta Hawks pounded Chicago 124-104 on Wednesday night, spoiling Billy Donovan's debut as Bulls coach.
On the first night of free agency, De'Aaron Fox was the first huge winner.
Huge, as in $163 million — or even more.
Fox and the Sacramento Kings agreed on a max deal Friday night, agent Chris Gaston said. It's a five-year pact that will pay Fox $163 million, and that figure could rise to nearly $200 million if Fox makes an All-NBA team or receives other league honors.
TORONTO (AP) — Joe Thornton had plenty of conversations about the next, and perhaps final, stop in his NHL career.
The 41-year-old forward picked the brains of former teammates Patrick Marleau and Joe Pavelski, asking them both to look back and analyze their moves away from the San Jose Sharks.
One phone call, however, that had little to do with hockey stuck with Thornton before he ultimately decided to sign with the Toronto Maple Leafs in free agency — a chat with Joe Montana.
It didn’t take long for the bubble to begin bursting on the Tampa Bay Lightning's Stanley Cup party.
The effects of a flat salary cap took its toll on the Lightning less than two weeks after winning their second Stanley Cup. Tampa Bay bid farewell to defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk, who signed with Anaheim, and the team was forced to place center Tyler Johnson on waivers as the NHL’s free agency period opened Friday.
Nets around the NHL will look very different next season after a flurry of musical goaltenders in free agency.
Henrik Lundqvist is joining a team he tormented in the playoffs for years, Braden Holtby is leaving the franchise he led to the Stanley Cup, Jacob Markstrom got big bucks to join the Battle of Alberta and Anton Khudobin is staying home, after all.
Two Stanley Cup-winning players got traded, a few others got new contracts and almost 200 prospects got to — virtually — live out their dreams by having their names called on the second day of the NHL draft.
After losing one defenseman possibly for the season and bringing back another one, the Washington Capitals could be on the verge of adding a big name in goal.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Ross Chastain snagged one of the coveted open Cup seats on Monday in a promotion at Chip Ganassi Racing to drive the No. 42 next season.
This year marks a particularly active free agency period with heavy turnover expected among a limited number of rides. The No. 42 Chevrolet at Ganassi has been filled by Matt Kenseth, who came out of retirement to drive after Kyle Larson was fired in April.
Alex Pietrangelo and his wife had ongoing discussions about whether he should return to the ice when the NHL season resumes.
In addition to wanting to keep the couple’s infant triplets safe during the pandemic, the 30-year-old captain of the Stanley Cup champion St. Louis Blues is heading into free agency while in his prime. He decided to play.
“The focus right now is just kind of getting through this healthy and playing and we’ll see where things end up,” Pietrangelo said.
Jameis Winston, Cam Newton and Jadeveon Clowney didn't have to wait long to find homes in the NFL when they came out of college.
They were No. 1 overall draft picks.
Now they are finding things moving much more slowly as they search for new homes or contracts this offseason.
The NFL's off-the-field business has joined most of the rest of the country in full work-from-home mode, turning signings and trades into tests of patience and technology.
Conducting a free agency period during a global pandemic has produced complications well beyond the usual salary-cap constraints.
“It is an offseason unlike any other I have experienced in my three decades in the business," said Drew Rosenhaus, whose agency Rosenhaus Sports represents more than 100 players in the league.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Curt Flood's widow has a simple explanation for why her late husband, who is revered by players for sacrificing his career to advocate for free agency, has not been enshrined in baseball's Hall of Fame.
“I think the holdup is that he got on a lot of people's nerves,” Judy Pace Flood said.
NEW YORK (AP) — Arbitrator Mark Irvings issued his decision Tuesday to deny the grievance filed by Cubs star Kris Bryant, ruling the players' association did not prove Chicago's reasons for holding the third baseman in the minors at the start of the 2015 season were a pretext to push back his eligibility for free agency.
NEW YORK (AP) — Kevin Durant is headed to the Brooklyn Nets, leaving the Golden State Warriors after three seasons.
His decision was announced Sunday at the start of the NBA free agency period on the Instagram page for The Boardroom, an online series looking at sports business produced by Durant and business partner Rich Kleiman.
VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) — The traditional team-by-team roll call to open the second day of the NHL draft hadn't yet begun when the league's looming salary-cap crunch began overshadowing the final six rounds Saturday.
Norris Trophy-winning defenseman P.K. Subban is off to New Jersey. Forward Patrick Marleau, a 21-year veteran, is headed to Carolina. And center J.T. Miller, one year into a five-year $26.25 million contract, was traded to Vancouver.
Larry Bird's place in NBA history stretches from the record book to the rule book.
A Hall of Fame player later became a successful coach and team executive. Along the way, he watched free agency transform from something rarely discussed to practically a year-round conversation — with his own name one of the talking points — and the 3-point shot go from afterthought to essential.
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) — After making three picks on the opening day of the NFL draft, New York Giants general manager Dave Gettleman was quick to say how great it is when need and value match.
It ended up being the story of all three days of the draft for the Giants, who are in a serious rebuilding mode after winning eight games over the past two seasons.
NEW YORK (AP) — Guaranteed payments for unrestricted NFL free-agent contracts this month make up just over half of the total money to be paid, down a bit from 2018, when Kirk Cousins signed a fully guaranteed $84-million deal.
For the first 148 deals reached in March, the players' union says $1.116 billion is guaranteed. That's 50.15 percent of the nearly $2.227 billion in total values. Take out Cousins' three-year deal, the 2018 total drops from 52.56 percent to 48 percent.
CLEVELAND (AP) — LeBron James flew back to Los Angeles from a family vacation in the Caribbean. He could be there longer than usual.
Hours before NBA free agency opened with the three-time champion as its most coveted prize, James returned Saturday to Southern California, where he has two homes and a film production company. The Lakers are hoping they can persuade him to sign with them and return them to glory.
BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — Leading the Bills to their first playoff appearance in 18 years wasn't enough for Tyrod Taylor to secure his long-term future in Buffalo.
The Bills are starting over at quarterback after agreeing to trade their three-year starter to the Cleveland Browns on Friday, according to two people with direct knowledge of the trade. Cleveland is sending its first pick in the third round to Buffalo.