A free agency frenzy

Yesterday was the first day of the new league year in the NFL and boy, did it start out with a bang. Money was flying around, and guys were changing teams so fast it seemed impossible to keep up. Now, one day later, the dust has somewhat settled, but there are still some very important questions that need to be answered. Before I address those, I want to address why people who are using yesterday as an indictment on the league or the players or the executives are dead wrong.

The NFL is a multi-billion dollar enterprise. That means there is a whole lot of money constantly coming in, and therefore a whole lot of money to be spent by all 32 teams. Yesterday was a prime example of that. There were really not any huge names that changed teams as far as the casual fan goes. No Reggie White or Drew Brees or Peyton Manning. But for the hardcore football fan, there were a whole lot of very interesting names that were moving all over the place. And the fact that many of the names on the move yesterday were not one of superstar status, yet they were still signing deals for unprecedented amounts of money is why I have heard so many people today criticize the teams that were writing all of those checks.

Now, part of this probably has to do with the fact that the Giants were at the forefront of the spending spree, and I want to justify the moves that my team made, but they were surely not the only team emptying their pockets.

Professional sports in the United States have gotten to the point where there is so much money that it is coming to the point where there is almost too much to go around. Baseball players having been signing contracts for hundreds of millions of dollars for years now. The same goes for basketball players, and like we saw yesterday, football players as well. That is why when people say that these players are being overpaid, it shows that they have no clue as to what they are talking about.

As is the case in any field of work, you are worth what someone is willing to pay for you. That doesn't just go for people either. If Home Buyer A wants to spend $1 million on a house, but Home Buyer B wants to spend $1.5 million on it, then the house is worth $1.5 million. Home Buyer A is more than welcome to increase his or her offer if they feel so inclined, but if they don't, that is their choice.

If a law firm wants to hire a defense attorney and pay $100,000 for their services, but another law firm wants to pay $125,000 for their services, then the lawyer is worth $125,000. That is the way the American economy works. The same goes for the NFL. The Denver Broncos thought Brock Osweiler was worth $15 million per season. The Houston Texans felt he was worth more than that. They offered him more, and Osweiler decided to sign with Houston. Is it Osweiler's fault that he was being offered that much money? No, because the current market in the league said he was worth that much. Is it Houston's fault that they had to offer that much money in order to sign him? No, because once again, the market said that was what they needed to offer him.

Now, you can call me biased here, and you would be correct, but the same goes for the spending spree that the Giants went on. Olivier Vernon was not forced to sign with the Giants. Neither were Janoris Jenkins or Damon Harrison. Maybe they had offers from other teams that would have paid them more money, or maybe the Giants were the highest bidders. I don't know the answer to that. Maybe Jenkins could have signed elsewhere but simply wanted to play for the Giants instead of the other teams that made offers to him.

And don't get me wrong, I am not saying this only about the guys that signed with the Giants. I would have loved to see the team sign Kelechi Osemele, because the Giants still need help on the offensive line. I would bet that the Giants made him an offer, but instead he decided to sign with the Oakland Raiders. If I had to guess why he signed with Oakland, I would say it was because they offered him more money than anyone else did, and in my mind, he made the right decision. The Raiders also made the right decision. If they felt that they needed help on the offensive line and thought adding Osemele would fill a hole, then they had to offer him the money that he signed for.

The critics that I have heard today are using Osweiler as the most glaring example of how unproven players are being extremely overpaid. They bring up the fact that Osweiler is making a salary similar to Tony Romo. Osweiler has started seven games in his NFL career, while Tony Romo has made multiple Pro Bowls and is a top-flight, franchise quarterback. Romo signed his deal in 2013. This is 2016. The league, and therefore the Houston Texans as well, have made billions of dollars since the time Romo signed his current contract. If Romo were available yesterday, he probably would have made a salary double what Osweiler got because the market would have made him worth that much. However, he wasn't. And in a league that is generating so much money, the market inflates the value of these guys, and it inflates the value of quarterbacks exponentially.

So don't sit here and criticize how much money these teams spent to get guys who are not elite level superstars. I would bet that the Texans have already sold thousands of Brock Osweiler jerseys, and he hasn't even been a member of the team for 24 hours. So the move is already paying dividends for Houston. Add ticket sales to that thanks to more interest in the team in Houston, as well as what is likely to be more national exposure since the Texans seem to be getting close to a true contender, and Osweiler will absolutely be worth every penny that the team spent on him. Training camp sessions will have higher attendance numbers. Ticket prices will increase. Therefore the team will be able to increase prices at the concession stands in the stadium. And what does that mean? More money. Thanks to Brock Osweiler and a hope for a brighter future among the Texans fanbase.

The same goes for the Giants. Sure, they spent a ton of money yesterday. But you know what that means? Giants fans are excited. I have not spoken to one Giants fan in the past 24 hours that was disappointed in what happened yesterday. The team filled holes that they desperately needed to fill, and in doing so, they made me want to go to a game next season and spend money for tickets and concessions and memorabilia. And I promise you that I am not the only Giants fan who feels that way.

After a string of unsuccessful seasons, Jerry Reese's job may be on the line going into this year. He had a ton of cap space, and a lot of needs. So why would someone ever blame him for using the resources he had at his disposal to try to turn his team around? The same goes for the front offices in Houston and Jacksonville and all of the other places that dished out a ton of money yesterday.

And then why would the players ever be at fault for taking that money? Brock Osweiler left the defending Super Bowl champions to join a borderline playoff team. Maybe he felt slighted when he was benched after going 5-2 in the seven starts he had with the Broncos. Maybe he prefers to be in Houston since it is warmer than Denver. Maybe his family likes the city of Houston more than Denver. Maybe houses are cheaper there. Or maybe he just wanted to go to Houston because they were offering him more money. Maybe he signed with the Texans for some, all, or none of those reasons. What I do know is that he shouldn't care what anyone else thinks. He should be happy with the deal he just signed, and based on his statements yesterday, that clearly is indeed the case.

The Texans needed a quarterback. The Giants needed help on the defensive line. The Raiders needed help on the offensive line. They might have paid a lot of money to address those needs, but at the end of the day, they did address them. Just because one guy in Anywhere, USA thinks they spent too much money is of no concern to them. The teams spent what they needed to spend. Not because I said that was the right price, but because in the NFL, where there is so much money to go around, that was the right price.

Daily Giants Update: I will start here since the Giants were the team making headlines yesterday. They did a heck of a job improving what was a terrible defense last season, but there are still more holes to fill. I have been an advocate of cutting Jason Pierre-Paul and Victor Cruz, but my mind has changed over the past few days. In comparison to what the team gave Vernon and Harrison, getting Pierre-Paul back on a one year deal is okay with me. Give him the offseason to adjust, and then next year to really be able to play with the self-induced limitation, and if it works we can try to re-sign him. If it doesn't work, then we are off the hook.
As far as Cruz goes, he took a massive pay cut, and I have to say as a fan that I really respect that. He then immediately posted a picture on Instagram that said "Once a Giant, always a Giant," and it told me that he was still dedicated to the team. I still need to see him actually get on the field and play, but what he did yesterday at the very least made me feel better about his commitment to the team.

Daily Rangers Update: The Rangers next seven games are against teams with serious postseason hopes, and that includes a trip to California to face the Ducks, Kings, and Sharks. With 15 games left to play, there is no such thing as a margin for error.

Daily Diamondbacks Update: Zack Greinke has been pretty good thus far, and guys like Brandon Drury and Socrates Brito, both of whom are fighting for roster spots, have been hitting well. It is still somewhat early in the spring, but the weather is actually starting to get nice here in New York, so that means real baseball is getting closer and closer.

Daily NBA Update: Add the Portland Trail Blazers to the list of teams that are positioning themselves for nice futures. However, I still find it hard to believe that any of the lower seeds will knock off any of the top four teams in the Western Conference in the first round of the playoffs. Golden State won again last night, and they stand at 57-6 with 45 consecutive regular season home wins. And speaking of those Blazers, the Warriors next game is tomorrow night at home against Portland, so let's see how the Blazers stack up against the best the NBA has to offer.