free-agency Page 7 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights
Baseball Owners Want An International Draft Because They Want Absolute Control
For North America’s amateur baseball players, be they generational talents like Mike Trout or organizational filler like Mike Fish, the road to the majors begins in the same place: with Major League Baseball’s amateur draft. There is no such system in place for international players, at least not ye...
Report: Pretty Much Everyone Is Sure Kevin Durant Is Heading To The Knicks
ESPN’s Ian Begley published a story today about the state of the New York Knicks on the eve of a potentially pivotal summer for the franchise. The Knicks, of course, spent last season as a big sad joke, and even though recent Knicks history has been a procession of failed seasons followed by disappo...
How Russell Wilson's Megadeal Allows NFL Owners To Keep Winning
The conventional wisdom on Russell Wilson’s record-setting contract extension is that it’s a win for both sides. Wilson is now the NFL’s highest-paid player, and he secured strong guarantees, the largest signing bonus in history, and significant early cash flow ......
How The Rise Of Comp Picks Is Chilling NFL Free Agency
Compensatory picks have been a low-key feature of the NFL draft since 1994, the year after free agency finally became a thing. But this offseason, more and more teams appear to be finessing the free agency system in an attempt to to stockpile comp picks. And it’s created something of a freeze on the...
The History And Future Of The Franchise Tag, The Bane Of The NFL's Best Players
The top of this year’s NFL free agent class was stocked with defensive linemen and edge rushers. Most never hit the market....
Report: The Nationals' Second Offer To Bryce Harper Was Smaller Than The First
Tuesday night the Phillies travel to Washington, and with them, their new superstar Bryce Harper returns to the city where he spent seven extremely productive seasons and became the face of the Nationals. But D.C.’s relationship with Harper, especially in the later years, was increasingly fraught, s...
Fixing MLB's Broken Economics Is About More Than Free Agency<em></em>
There have been a number of significant hints that MLB and the Major League Baseball Players Association are headed for some very combative collective bargaining in 2021, but the two sides being willing to talk about economics ahead of schedule will stand out to anyone who has ever been through thi...
Did Le'Veon Bell Make The Right Decision?
The Le’Veon Bell contract saga was always going to be about much more than Le’Veon Bell. Bell refused to play the 2018 season on a second franchise tag—after passing on a long-term contract offer from the Steelers that would have made him the league’s highest-paid running back, but was short on full...
Le'Veon Bell's Jets Deal Is A Good Reminder: Guarantees Are Not Always Guaranteed
The Le’Veon Bell contract saga, two years and three negotiating cycles in the making, finally concluded just after midnight today. Bell will play for the Jets, for a reported $52.5 million across a max of four years, with a max value of $61 million, and guarantees totaling $35 million. There are a l...
Le'Veon Bell Continues Self-Imposed NFL Exile By Signing With Jets
It took a year-long holdout, and alienating many of his Steelers teammates, and enduring the experience of having his role comfortably usurped by another dirt-cheap replacement, but Le’Veon Bell has finally successfully ducked franchise tag hell and engineered his way to a long-term contract. Sadly...
Anthony Barr Just Couldn't Bring Himself To Join The Jets
That free-agent deal that Vikings linebacker Anthony Barr reportedly agreed to last night with the Jets? On second thought ......
The Phillies Knew Their Fans Wanted Bryce Harper Over Manny Machado
The Phillies eventually got their man in Bryce Harper, even if it took all damn winter, but they were always favored to get someone, given that principal owner John Middleton perhaps unwisely admitted the team’s willingness to spend “stupid” money. What was in dispute was whether their primary targe...
The Bryce Harper Sweepstakes Made Dummies Of Us All
The last time we saw Bryce Harper’s name linked to the Philadelphia Phillies, we were told he hated Philadelphia, the shambolic organization, and especially manager Gabe Kapler, who is supposed to be as mad as a brush....
The Bryce Harper Sweepstakes Made Dummies Of Us All
The last time we saw Bryce Harper’s name linked to the Philadelphia Phillies, we were told he hated Philadelphia, the shambolic organization, and especially manager Gabe Kapler, who is supposed to be as mad as a brush....
These Were Bryce Harper's Other Offers
Bryce Harper is a Phillie, finally. It was a long, drawn-out process that turned fans insane and made reporters stupid. But the seeming interminability of it all ultimately served Harper’s purposes: It wasn’t until this last week that the Phillies offered record money or a 13-year contract. Harper a...
These Were Bryce Harper's Other Offers
Bryce Harper is a Phillie, finally. It was a long, drawn-out process that turned fans insane and made reporters stupid. But the seeming interminability of it all ultimately served Harper’s purposes: It wasn’t until this last week that the Phillies offered record money or a 13-year contract. Harper a...
Bryce Harper Finally Signs With The Phillies
After a long, stupid, painful process in free agency, Bryce Harper will be staying in the NL East. Jon Heyman first reported that the ex-Nationals outfielder will be going to Philly, and several other prominent baseball reporters confirmed it shortly after. Harper and the Phillies were reportedly “s...
Bryce Harper Finally Signs With The Phillies
After a long, stupid, painful process in free agency, Bryce Harper will be staying in the NL East. Jon Heyman first reported that the ex-Nationals outfielder will be going to Philly, and several other prominent baseball reporters confirmed it shortly after. Harper and the Phillies were reportedly “s...
Why Is Baseball's Biggest Drama So Damned Boring?
Bryce Harper has been “about to sign” with the Philadelphia Phillies for two weeks now, including one weekend when Andy MacPhail, the team’s chief baseball brain, said the Phillies were good with what they had and weren’t looking to add much in firepower or the payroll to fuel it....
Reports: Manny Machado Will Finally Be Signed, By The Padres
Manny Machado’s going to get the long-term security and money he wanted. The infielder will reportedly sign with the San Diego Padres on a 10-year, $300 million contract. The deal contains an opt-out after the fifth year, as reported by Yahoo Sports’ Tim Brown....