As the Transfer Window crashes open, I thought I would take this opportunity to speak of player movement in a completely different sport. In 1993, Free Agency was granted to players in the NFL, meaning players were free to move to different clubs for much better money. Here I take a look at the five players I consider to be the greatest of these movers and shakers.
SHANNON SHARPE
One of the best to ever play at his position of Tight End, Sharpe had already won two Super Bowls during his time with the Denver Broncos with quarterback John Elway. After an injury plagued 1999 season, he moved to the unfancied Baltimore Ravens. In his first season with the Ravens, he amassed 810 yards from 67 receptions with five touchdowns, helping Baltimore into the playoffs. In the post season, Sharpe produced possibly the greatest play in franchise history, as he raced 96 yards for the games only touchdown in the AFC Championship Game v Oakland. The Super Bowl was one of the worst offensive matches of all time, but the Ravens were victorious, giving Sharpe his third Championship. After a further season in Baltimore, Sharpe returned to Denver to play out his career. He finished with 815 receptions, 10,060 yards and 62 touchdowns, and was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2011.
CURTIS MARTIN
Curtis Martin, or Cumar as Mullin loving referred to him, was a star running back for New England after his first three seasons in Foxboro. He had won the Offensive Rookie of the Year and been voted to two Pro Bowls, so when division rivals New York Jets offered the restricted free agent Martin a six year $36m contract, many were stunned that the Patriots chose not to match the sheet. Over the next eight seasons for the perennial underachieving Jets, Martin amassed a franchise record 10,302 yards on the ground, but never made it to a Super Bowl. He became the oldest winner of the NFL rushing title when he won the award by ONE yard after the 2004 season. He retired in 2007 with final totals of 14,101 rushing yards, 90 rushing touchdowns and a career rushing average of 4 yards a carry.
DEION SANDERS
"Prime Time" and "Neon Deion" are just some of the nicknames given to one of the most dynamic personalities EVER to grace the NFL. Sanders is the only person to ever play in both a Super Bowl AND a baseball World Series. After five seasons with his first team, the Atlanta Falcons, Sanders left for San Francisco, where he won his first Super Bowl in his only season with the team. He fell out with star wide receiver Jerry Rice, and promptly moved to Dallas. In his first season with the Cowboys, he won his second consecutive Super Bowl. He stayed with Dallas, playing to a level perhaps unsurpassed by a corner back in the NFL, until the end of the 1999 season. He then became one of the first high profile free agent signings of the Dan Snyder Washington Redskins, but retired after one season. He was coaxed back four years later by the Baltimore Ravens, adding five more interceptions and one more defensive touchdown to his awesome statistics. Sanders is the only modern era NFL player to have scored six different types of touchdown, and his 19 defensive and return touchdowns are NFL records.
DREW BREES
The 2005 season had been one of the most traumatic in the history of the New Orleans Saints. After the devastation of Hurricane Katrina, the Saints had been forced to abandon their Superdome home and go on the road for the whole season. They finished 3-13, and fired head coach Jim Haslett. They appointed Sean Payton has head coach, and lured free agent quarterback Drew Brees from San Diego. Brees had posted back to back impressive seasons with the Chargers, but after they drafted Phil Rivers, Brees time in San Diego was numbered. Expected to sign for the Miami Dolphins, Brees instead joined the Saints. In his first season with the team, now back at the Superdome, the Saints went 10-6 and won their second ever playoff match, before losing in the NFC Championship game. The Saints were now the feel good story of America, providing a banner for a city in which thousands were still suffering the effects of Katrina. Brees next two seasons were equally impressive, but in his 4th year with the team he took them to the Super Bowl, where he put in a stellar performance to win the games MVP award and take New Orleans to its first Championship. He continues to perform at a high level, breaking Dan Marino's single season passing yardage record in 2011. In his time in The Big Easy, he has not only thrown for 28,394 yards and 201 touchdowns, he has transformed the franchise into one of the modern offensive powerhouses.
REGGIE WHITE
White was one of the most dominant defensive players of his or any other generation during his time with the Philadelphia Eagles, notching an astonishing 70 sacks in his first 57 games with two sack leader titles in his first four years. His dominance however did not translate into a success, with a championship proving elusive in the City of Brotherly Love. After 124 sacks in his eight seasons, he surprised football by moving to the once fabled, but now beleaguered, Green Bay Packers at the start of the 1993 season. By the end of his 4th season, he finally became a Champion, as the Packers beat the New England Patriots (featuring Curtis Martin) 35-21. White sacked Patriots QB Drew Bledsoe three times, including two on consecutive plays. White played two more seasons in Green Bay, losing a further Super Bowl the season following his victory, and ended his career in Carolina, retiring after the 2000 season with a (then) NFL record of 198 sacks.
On December 26th 2004, Reggie White died aged just 43. He was posthumously inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2006. His number 92 jersey has been retired by both the Philadelphia Eagles and the Packers.
White is to me the greatest Free Agent of all, as he was one of the first, and certainly the first to go and excel elsewhere. The game, and the world in general, is the poorer for his loss.
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