Afrigather Shohei Ohtani’s contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers, reported to be a 10-year pact for $700 million, is the biggest in sports activities historical past. Years of hypothesis preceded an abbreviated and covert courtship course of, all at Ohtani’s request. All till one fateful day when the baseball web went loopy.
[Mintz: Shohei Ohtani’s flight to nowhere: A timeline of the weirdest day of the MLB offseason]
Ohtani finally made his choice the subsequent day, and can presumably be a Dodger for the subsequent decade. However his saga is just the newest in a protracted line of dramatic free-agency durations all through sports activities. We undergo ten of the largest from the baseball, basketball, soccer and soccer worlds.
Reggie White: Green Bay Packers, 1993
Thirty years have handed since Reggie White made one of many first and largest splashes in NFL free company, and whereas the cash looks as if pennies in in the present day’s world, his influence with the Inexperienced Bay Packers is why groups pay a lot when the league’s elite expertise hits the open market.
In 1993, White already had 124 profession sacks in eight years with the Eagles, however he was a trailblazer in free company, signing with Inexperienced Bay for 4 years and $17 million, together with $9 million paid out within the first 12 months. His signing with Inexperienced Bay set the bar excessive for groups structuring a contract creatively to outbid different worthy suitors in a bidding warfare.
White had led the NFL in sacks twice, had seven Professional Bowls and 6 first-team All-Professional nods, however his postseason influence modified issues in his profession. After solely 5 playoff video games with the Eagles, he had not less than two in his first 5 seasons in Inexperienced Bay, main the protection at age 35 when the Packers gained a Tremendous Bowl in 1996, and serving to them get again a 12 months later.
His remaining 12 months in Inexperienced Bay earned him the Defensive Participant of the Yr award, and he completed with 68.5 sacks in his six seasons with the Packers, a worthy second act in a Corridor of Fame profession. —Greg Auman
Deion Sanders: San Fransico 49ers, 1994; Dallas Cowboys, 1995
You hardly ever see Corridor of Famers turn into obtainable in free company two years in a row, nevertheless it occurred in 1994-95 with Deion Sanders, bringing “Prime Time” in his prime to San Francisco and Dallas.
After 5 years in Atlanta, Sanders hit the open market in 1994, and his one 12 months in San Francisco noticed him not solely earn Defensive Participant of the Yr, however end third in MVP voting, serving to the 49ers to a different Tremendous Bowl win. He had six interceptions, returning three for touchdowns, so it raised the sweepstakes much more for his free company in 1995.
His contract was for 5 years and $35 million, then making him the highest-paid defensive participant within the NFL. Sanders helped the Cowboys win a Tremendous Bowl as properly, and his time there introduced three extra first-team All-Professional seasons, two extra pick-sixes and 4 punt-return touchdowns. —Auman
Was Deion Sanders’ first season with Colorado a hit or failure?
Álex Rodríguez: Texas Rangers, 2000
Earlier than Shohei, there was A-Rod.
Álex Rodríguez’s first foray into free company, as a fresh-faced 25-year-old again in 2000, did not have the general public twists and turns of, say, Carlos Correa or Aaron Choose’s free agent saga. However the consequence — a record-setting 10 12 months $250 million contract — set the game ablaze and ushered within the trendy period of MLB cash.
Rodríguez, ever the mercurial determine, was coming off a comically dominant five-year run in Seattle throughout which he hit .315/.381/.956 between ages 20 and 24. By no means earlier than within the historical past of MLB free company had such a gifted participant hit the market at such a younger age.
Rodríguez’s consultant, mega-agent Scott Boras, solely upped the drama even additional. And after A-Rod accepted that huge bag of cash from the Rangers, it was shortly clear to everybody within the sport that either side had made a monumental mistake.
Stories from that winter referenced A-Rod telling buddies that he needed to play for the Mets. In 2018, Rodríguez talked about on an ESPN broadcast that he nonetheless regrets not signing with the Mets that winter.
“That is an financial choice and a profession choice,” Rodríguez instructed Sports activities Illustrated over the telephone after signing. What a rousing, emotional endorsement of the long run! Three years later, A-Rod was a Yankee, however that is its personal story. —Jake Mintz
A-Rod & David
LeBron James: Miami Warmth, 2010
The free company Choice that modified the sport and commonplace for all future choices. Every part about this ordeal was unprecedented. LeBron himself was — and stays — a star, expertise and drive with out precedent, however there was additionally extra to it.
The hometown issue with Cleveland. Large markets like New York and Chicago chasing and at the hours of darkness. LeBron being ring-less on the time and in determined want of a title to solidify — and even perhaps save — his legacy.
After which all of it ended with the announcement being made on a TV present, which, once more, is one thing we had by no means seen earlier than. For an additional free company to approximate the chase for LeBron in 2010, there’d must be one other participant like LeBron. In different phrases: we’re unlikely to ever see something like this ever once more. —Yaron Weitzman
We have not seen one other athlete fairly like LeBron James
DeAndre Jordan: Los Angeles Clippers, 2015
That is the chase that launched NBA Twitter. It has to go down as essentially the most ridiculous free company ordeal within the historical past {of professional} sports activities.
Let’s simply rip via the timeline shortly. Jordan was a stable rim-running defensive drive for the Lob Metropolis Clippers. However in July 2015, he determined to signal with the Dallas Mavericks. Fairly commonplace stuff. Till everybody misplaced their minds and the drama performed out on Twitter via emojis. Sure, you learn that proper.
The Clippers panicked, flew to Jordan’s home, satisfied him to vary his thoughts, the information leaked, Mavericks wing Chandler Parsons tweeted an emoji of an airplane indicating that he was on his technique to Jordan’s house. This was adopted by JJ Redick, Chris Paul and Blake Griffin of the Clippers tweeting transportation emojis of their very own, and Paul Pierce revealing that he did not know to make use of the web.
The Clippers stayed at Jordan’s home all day till his contract could possibly be signed, and capped off the night by making it clear that they weren’t letting Jordan depart
That is the purpose the place we remind you that each one this was for a participant who, to that time, had by no means been an All-Star. —Weitzman
Kevin Durant: Golden State Warriors, 2016
One other instance of an NBA free company that includes a little bit of all the things. A famous person expertise who, to that time, had but to win a hoop. A conflict of small markets vs. huge cities — on this case, Oklahoma Metropolis making an attempt to maintain Durant away from the massive boys on the coasts.
Heaps and many wooing — this time within the Hamptons, the place Durant camped out and fielded visits from all types of suitors, together with Tom Brady, who got here to pitch the Celtics. And, to cap it off, a since-deleted passive-aggressive social media publish from a scorned ex-teammate, this time from Russell Westbrook and of three plates of cupcakes topped by pink and blue stars and sprinkles.
We might later study that within the Thunder locker room, “cupcake” was a time period used to explain anybody who was “comfortable.” Making this all extra fascinating is that Durant, regardless of getting two rings, nonetheless seems to be a person in quest of one thing. —Weitzman
Tom Brady: Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 2020
After 20 years and 6 championships with one crew, the best quarterback in NFL historical past really made it to free company. And never solely did Tom Brady depart the Patriots, he signed with a Bucs crew that hadn’t been to the playoffs in 12 years. They usually not solely went to the playoffs, they gained all of it in his first 12 months.
Had Brady not gained a championship throughout a pandemic, it might have been even greater, however his three years in Tampa — including back-to-back division titles for the primary time in franchise historical past — make Brady’s top-of-the-line surprising second chapters in NFL historical past.
We have seen so many veterans synonymous with one crew end their careers someplace else, however hardly ever does it yield the success Brady loved with Tampa Bay. —Auman
Tom Brady talks what’s subsequent after giving 32 years to soccer
Cristiano Ronaldo: Manchester United/Al-Nassr, 2021-2022
Cristiano Ronaldo is not any stranger to controversy — and had two main free agent dramas within the area of simply over a 12 months. First, simply as he was seemingly poised to affix big-spending Manchester Metropolis after leaving Juventus, he accomplished a last-minute about-turn in August 2021, switching again to Manchester United as a substitute.
But for pure shock worth, soccer has by no means seen a extra beautiful transfer than when Ronaldo determined to affix Al-Nassr a 12 months in a while a contract value $200 million per 12 months, a change that sparked an enormous inflow of spending by Saudi Professional League golf equipment and in some methods kicked off the method that will result in Saudi Arabia profitable internet hosting rights to the 2034 World Cup. —Martin Rogers
Lionel Messi: Inter Miami, 2023
Lionel Messi’s free company in the summertime of 2023 was crammed with additional intrigue, on condition that he was simply months faraway from main Argentina to an exhilarating World Cup triumph. For a major time frame, it appeared as if cash would speak loud sufficient for Messi to make Saudi Arabia his subsequent pit cease after leaving Paris St. Germain.
However David Beckham’s Inter Miami by no means gave up on the chase, making an attempt to persuade Messi that South Florida was the best place for him to carry his household for the ultimate few years of his profession. An modern contract that rewards him with a chunk of further streaming subscriptions did not harm both, and the transfer is rightly seen as some of the necessary signings in American soccer historical past. —Rogers
How do you suppose Lionel Messi modifications the MLS model?
Carlos Correa: Minnesota Twins, 2023
Correa wasn’t even the highest participant in his FA class — that honor goes to Arson, I imply, Aaron Choose — however his journey via the open market was the free agent equal of Concern and Loathing in Las Vegas.
On December fifteenth, Correa and the San Francisco Giants agreed to a 13-year, $350 million deal and have been set to formally announce the pact on December twentieth. However mere hours earlier than it was attributable to begin, the introductory press convention was abruptly canceled. The Giants had uncovered a last-minute challenge with the shortstop’s ankle, which he had injured again in 2014, which pushed them to try to renegotiate the contract.
At this level, New York Mets bajillionare proprietor Steve Cohen swooped in from the rafters and reached a tentative settlement with Correa on a 12-year, $315 million deal. The Giants have been out of the blue out and the famous person shortstop was anticipated to reach in New York Metropolis in early January to announce his new deal.
However then the Mets, who, via Cohen, had revealed the intricate particulars of their pursuit of Correa, grew involved with the identical lingering ankle drawback that despatched the Giants deal up in flames. And so the Minnesota Twins, who had employed Correa on a one-year deal the season prior, hopped again into the fray. With the Mets making an attempt to renegotiate, the Twins reached phrases on a six-year, $200 million incentive-laden cope with the understandably exhausted Correa. Three weeks, three groups, three press conferences, seven years and $150 million gone poof over a worrisome ankle. It was undeniably some of the bonkers and unpredictable free businesses in sports activities historical past. —Mintz
Honorable mentions:
Greg Maddux, Atlanta Braves — 1992
Cliff Lee, Philadelphia Phillies — 2010
David Beckham, LA Galaxy — 2007
Drew Brees, New Orleans Saints — 2006
Peyton Manning, Denver Broncos — 2012
Aaron Choose, New York Yankees — 2022
Greg Auman is FOX Sports activities’ NFC South reporter, overlaying the Buccaneers, Falcons, Panthers and Saints. He’s in his tenth season overlaying the Bucs and the NFL full-time, having frolicked on the Tampa Bay Occasions and The Athletic. You possibly can comply with him on Twitter at @gregauman.
Martin Rogers is a columnist for FOX Sports activities and the creator of the FOX Sports activities Insider e-newsletter. Observe him on Twitter @MRogersFOX and subscribe to the daily newsletter.
Jake Mintz, the louder half of @CespedesBBQ is a baseball author for FOX Sports activities. He performed school baseball, poorly at first, then very properly, very briefly. Jake lives in New York Metropolis the place he coaches Little League and rides his bike, typically on the similar time. Observe him on Twitter at @Jake_Mintz.
Yaron Weitzman is an NBA author for FOX Sports activities. He’s the creator of “Tanking to the Top: The Philadelphia 76ers and the Most Audacious Process in the History of Professional Sports.” Observe him on Twitter @YaronWeitzman.
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