The 2025 free-agency class is weaker than usual, because most teams are getting their best players re-signed

On Monday at 12:00 p.m. ET, free agency begins. Sure, it’s only the negotiating window. But that’s when the bulk of the deals start getting done.

This year, there will be deals. There always will be deals. But the class seems a bit weaker than it’s been in past years.

I know. It’s not in our best business interests to say that. We should be hyping it up.

Free!

Agency!

Frenzy!

The truth is that this year’s class is more meh than magnetic, especially with Bengals receiver Tee Higgins tagged. And there’s a reason for it. Teams have learned to get deals done with their best players well before they can sniff the open market.

As the running back position experienced a resurgence during the 2024 season, it’s no coincidence that the Panthers re-signed Chuba Hubbard and the Cardinals re-signed James Conner.

In many cases, a team’s willingness to let a player become a free agent is a red flag. The team that knows the player better than anyone has decided to let the player leave. If the player were regarded as a key piece of the short- and/or long-term future, that wouldn’t happen. (Then again, dysfunctional teams do dysfunctional things.)

So keep that in mind next week when wondering where all the great free agents have gone. They’re not free at all, and they won’t be for as long as their teams regard them as valuable pieces in the broader football machine.

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