Marquee players heading to Free Agency in 2009

Yesterday night was the deadline for teams to sign the players who were designated with the Franchise or Transition tags to multi-year deals. As of today, any players who had not agreed a contract are only eligible to sign their one year offers as part of the tag. While the money is good for a year, obviously many players are looking for long term security in a game where injury can end a career in an instant.

Of the players that have not already signed their single year deals, only Cowboys Safety Ken Hamlin came to an agreement on a long term contract, leaving a number of premier players in a position to cash in next season. In the main, players do not take kindly to being placed in (well paid) limbo, especially if the team subsequently lowballs them with a contract offer. The two players who have already signed long term deals after being franchised this year are Colts TE Dallas Clark, and Seahawks CB Marcus Trufant.

So next season, Raiders CB Nmandi Asamugha, Ravens DE Terrell Suggs, and Titans DT Albert Haynesworth will join players such as L.J Smith, Jordan Gross and Karlos Dansby in free agency.

All three of the players who failed to sign yesterday should be in for big pay days along the line. Suggs is probably the most productive player of any players left without a deal. He has also shown tremendous charcter, battling back from injuries, and has been relatively understanding about the team's decision to franchise him. Asamugha saw his production drop last season, but mainly as a result of teams' unwillingness to throw in his direction. Asamugha is still widely considered one of the very few elite CB's in the league today.