Wednesday, February 5, 2014

Often Free Agents Cause more Harm than Good

One year ago today, I made a life changing move, I left a place I worked for nine years in order to move six hours South in search for a better life. I had already interviewed and secured a job and had to find a place to live but in the meantime I moved in with my older brother and his roommate for five months until finding my own place to live. In only a matter of days my life, on my own accord, had changed dramatically.

Every year many athletes get a chance to do the same thing I did and choose a new path for their lives, granted their paths make them multi-millionaires and mine made me a multi-thousandaire, but I digress. Oftentimes these decisions make a ton of sense and work out extremely well for the athlete but many other times they don’t.

This past year in several sports we saw big-name free agents switch teams and in some cases it has already worked out, in other cases we just have to wait and see. Ray Allen, formerly of the Boston Celtics, took less money to join the Miami Heat juggernaut led by LeBron James. In his first year with the team the Heat won their second straight title and Allen’s second career title and he was vital in their game six win over the San Antonio Spurs.

We’ve seen Wes Welker, formerly of the New England Patriots (sorry Massachusetts that you’ve lost so many great players recently), join forces with Peyton Manning in Denver. The switch worked out well in that Manning and Welker led the greatest offensive attack in NFL history although they ultimately lost the Super Bowl to the Seattle Seahawks.

We are only months removed from Robinson Cano, former Yankees second-baseman; bolting the Bronx for wetter pastures out West in Seattle. We don’t know how that free agent signing will turn out but in the meantime Cano is making $240 million over the course of the next 10 years. Whether or not the Mariners win a championship anytime soon it has definitely worked out for Cano.

In 2009 the Yankees signed AJ Burnett to a five-year contract worth $82.5 million. That deal, although Burnett pitched only three of those seasons, arguably worked out well for both sides. In his first year with the Yankees Burnett pitched well earning a 13-9 record but it wasn’t until game two of the World Series that year that Burnett really shined. He pitched seven innings, striking out nine while allowing only one run in a Yankees win. If they had lost the game, the Yankees would have been down two games to none in the series. It may have been his only defining moment as a Yankee but what better time to have one? His Yankee career turned bad quickly after 2009. He went 21 and 26 over his next two seasons before being traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates where he shined.

One free agent signing many Redskins fans wish they could forget was bringing in Albert Haynesworth. In February of 2009 the Skins signed the defensive tackle to a seven-year, $100 million contract. From the beginning of the contract Haynesworth caused problems by speaking out against the team’s defensive scheme and showing up to training camp in poor physical condition. In his two years with the club he played in only 20 games, recording only six-and-a-half sacks. He was suspended by the team in December of 2010 and would never play another snap for the Redskins.

The Chicago Bulls agreed to a four-year $60 million contract with Ben Wallace in 2006. In fairness to the Bulls Wallace was coming off four consecutive all-star seasons in Detroit. Wallace only averaged 5.9 points per game as a Bull but did pull down 9.9 rebounds and 1.9 blocks per games. While those numbers weren’t terrible they look better than they actually were because of a good first year and a bad second year. The Bulls quickly realized Wallace’s declining talent and worked out a deal to trade him to Cleveland for the remainder of his contract.

While there are numerous stories of failure and mild success after a free agent signing there are far fewer that produce great accomplishment. LeBron James, after signing with the Heat, has led them to three consecutive NBA Finals appearances and two consecutive Finals Championships. Paul O’Neill signed with the Yankees in 1993 and helped lead them to four World Championships. In 2006 the Saints agreed to sign Drew Brees which instantly made them a contender and in 2009 they Saints won their first Super Bowl title.

While occasionally big name free agent signings help turn franchises around far too often they don’t. Teams take huge risks signing free agent players as many times once a player gets paid they won’t try as hard or their best days are behind them. I guess Robert Burns said it best in his poem To a Mouse, “The best laid plans of mice and men often go awry.” In this case it should read: The best laid plans of owners and athletes all too often go awry.

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