Agent’s Take: How free agent spending spree paid off for Patriots and Seahawks

Free agency isn’t usually the answer to an NFL team’s prayers. Winning free agency doesn’t instantly translate to success. Only four of the teams that spent the most money in free agency have made the playoffs in the same year in the last 10 seasons. The 2024 Tennessee Titans are a prime example of free agency futility. Spending the third most money in free agency resulted in a three-win decrease where the Titans secured the first overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft with a 3-14 record.

Super Bowl LX will be an exception when it comes to free agency. Attending the Super Bowl immediately after a big spending spree is a rarity. The two Super Bowl LX entrants were among the biggest spenders in free agency this offseason.

Any signings after the deadline to qualify for the compensatory draft formula, which is the Monday following the NFL Draft, were excluded from the calculations when determining spending. That date was April 28 for 2025. Players whose contracts were expiring and heading to unrestricted free agency who re-signed were included in the calculations.

The New England Patriots easily spent the most in free agency. Armed with a salary cap hit of over $125 million, the Patriots were determined to improve on their 4-13 record from the previous two seasons. The Patriots signed 16 players to contracts totaling $364.86 million with $200.559 million in guarantees, of which $181.659 million was fully guaranteed at signing. The contracts were worth up to $407.355 million thanks to performance bonuses (incentives and salary increases).

The main emphasis was on defense. Six defensive starters were signed.

Most notably, the Patriots won a bidding war with the Carolina Panthers for Milton Williams. The defensive tackle signed a four-year, $104 million contract with $63 million in guarantees ($51 million fully guaranteed at signing). The deal made Williams the third-highest paid interior defensive lineman in the NFL, at $26 million per year. It was one of the more surprising deals in free agency, as Williams was part of an interior defensive line rotation with the Philadelphia Eagles, where his 47.8% defensive playing time in 2024 was a career high.

Carlton Davis was signed to team with Christian Gonzalez, a 2024 second-team All-Pro, at cornerback. He received a three-year, $54 million contract, averaging $18 million per year, with $34.5 million fully guaranteed. The deal is worth up to $60 million due to incentives.

Edge rusher Harold Landry was brought in to bolster the pass rush. He got a three-year, $43.5 million contract (worth up to $48 million through incentives) with $26 million fully guaranteed. K’Lavon Chaisson, Landry’s counterpart, might be New England’s most profitable rookie. He received a one-year, $3 million contract, worth up to $5 million through incentives. Chaisson’s 7.5 sacks are second on the Patriots behind Landry’s 8.5.

Linebacker Robert Spillane signed a three-year, $33 million contract, averaging $11 million per year, with $20.6 million fully guaranteed. The incentives bring the maximum deal value to $37.5 million.

Expectations weren’t high for safety Jaylinn Hawkins when he signed a one-year deal worth $1.8 million. His emergence led the Patriots to trade Kyle Dugger to the Pittsburgh Steelers in late October.

Linebacker Jack Gibbens and tackle Khyiris Tonga, who signed one-year deals worth $1.3 million and $2.1 million respectively, were key contributors. Gibbens was on the field for 48.23 percent of New England’s defensive snaps, while Tonga’s defensive playing time was 33.1 percent during the regular season.

The Patriots took a calculated risk that wide receiver Stefon Diggs, who turned 32 in November, would bounce back from a torn ACL in his right knee midway through the 2024 season. Diggs signed a three-year, $63.5 million contract (worth up to $69 million through incentives) with an extremely team-friendly structure in March, a few weeks after the start of free agency. The deal features $26 million in guarantees, of which $20 million was fully guaranteed at signing. Diggs did not experience any lingering aftereffects from his knee injury. He caught 85 passes for 1,013 yards with four touchdowns.

Diggs wasn’t the only free agent addition at the wide receiver position. Mack Hollins signed a two-year, $8.4 million contract with an additional $2 million in incentives. His 656 snaps in the regular season were the most among Patriots receivers.

Two starters on the offensive line were found. Right tackle Morgan Moses signed a three-year, $24 million contract worth up to $28.5 million through incentives. Center Garrett Bradbury was signed to a two-year contract with a base value of $9.5 million.

By hiring Mike Vrabel as head coach, quarterback Drake Maye took a big step forward in his second NFL season and free agent acquisitions were the catalyst for New England’s turnaround. The 10-win improvement is the best in the NFL for the 2025 season.

The Seattle Seahawks didn’t have as much ground to make up as the Patriots. The playoffs were narrowly missed in 2024 with a 10-7 record. Nonetheless, the Seahawks were the NFL’s fourth-biggest spender in free agency by most accounts. Seattle signed 13 players for $247,927,500 with $133,542,500 in guarantees, while $95,042,500 was fully guaranteed at signing. The maximum value of these contracts is $285,827,500 including incentives and salary increases.

The signing of quarterback Sam Darnold was a big key to the Seahawks securing the NFC’s first playoff berth with a 14-3 record. The Seahawks turned to Darnold after contract extension negotiations with Geno Smith stalled before his trade to the Las Vegas Raiders for a 2025 third-round pick in March.

Darnold signed a three-year, $100.5 million contract, averaging $33.5 million per year, worth up to $115.5 million through incentives during the free agency period. There are $55 million in guarantees, of which $37.5 million was fully guaranteed at the time of signing. Smith would still be Seattle’s quarterback if he had agreed to a Darnold-type deal.

Darnold demonstrated that he wasn’t just a product of Minnesota Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell’s offensive mind. He earned Pro Bowl honors for a second straight season. More importantly, Darnold has started to change his reputation for shrinking in big games. He completed 25 of 36 passes (69.4%) for 356 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions to post a 127.8 passer rating in Seattle’s 31-27 victory over the Los Angeles Rams in the NFC Championship Game.

The Seahawks turned to the free agent market to fill a need at wide receiver after trading DK Metcalf to the Steelers for the equivalent of a second-round pick and releasing Tyler Lockett. Cooper Kupp fit the bill. He signed a three-year, $45 million contract (worth up to $47 million via salary increases) with $26.5 million in guarantees days after being released by the Rams.

Edge rusher DeMarcus Lawrence left the Dallas Cowboys after 11 seasons because he was sure he couldn’t win a Super Bowl by staying there. He signed a three-year, $32.5 million contract with $18 million in guarantees. Incentives and salary increases make the deal worth up to $41.5 million. Lawrence is the only player to have at least three forced fumbles and at least three fumble recoveries this season. He returned two of the recovered fumbles for touchdowns.

The Seahawks made two significant re-signings on the defensive side of the ball. Linebacker Ernest Jones signed a three-year, $28.5 million contract worth up to $33 million thanks to incentives and salary increases to return to the Seahawks. His five interceptions were tied among linebackers this season. Jones was named a second-team All-Pro. Defensive tackle Jarran Reed remained in Seattle on a three-year, $22 million contract with an additional $3 million in incentives.

The NFL is a copycat league. It will be interesting to see which teams that missed the playoffs go on a spending spree when the free agent signing period opens on March 11. The Raiders, Titans and New York Jets, who each had 3-14 records this season, are projected to be among the teams with the most salary cap space in 2026. Super Bowl LX is the first time both participants have participated in the game after missing the playoffs the previous year since the 2003 season when the Patriots beat the Panthers.