USA TODAY Sports
As the craziest NFL offseason continues to unfold, many are saying that the NFL finally has begun to operate like the NBA, with players dictating their futures more than ever before. But that’s just part of it. A team can’t trade a disgruntled player unless there’s a willing trade partner.
That’s where the defending Super Bowl champions come in. The NFL continues to be a copycat league, and the trade-happy attitude that L.A. has parlayed into a Lombardi Trophy will make other teams willing to do the same.
But it doesn’t work if every team has the same willingness to ship unscratched lottery tickets to new teams, and to pay more to established players than the players’ former team was willing to pay. For every team that says “f–k them picks,” another team has to be willing to pluck them picks.
Before the Broncos could give up a boatload of current and future picks for Russell Wilson, the Seahawks had to be willing to swap Wilson for those multiple dice rolls for the future, along with three players. Ditto for the Raiders and Davante Adams; without the Packers being willing to take a first- and second-round pick for one of the best receiver in football, the deal doesn’t happen. Likewise, the Browns can’t cough up a king’s ransom of draft picks (and $230 million fully guaranteed) unless the Texans are willing to part ways with Deshaun Watson, less than two years after giving him a market-value contract.
Most recently, the Dolphins’ unflinching willingness to send five draft picks to Kansas City (and to pay Tyreek Hill $75 million over the next three years) means nothing if the Chiefs aren’t equally happy to harvest the selections and to avoid paying that much money to a 28-year-old wideout.
To create a robust market, there must be both teams like the Rams, Broncos, Raiders, Browns, and Dolphins — and teams like the Lions, Seahawks, Packers, Texans, and Chiefs. If that mix persists (and there’s no reason to think it won’t), this isn’t an aberration. It’s a trend.
And it’s an exciting one, at least in the offseason. What it means to football season remains to be seen. So far, however, seeing the Rams win a Super Bowl with key players acquired in exchange for first-round picks and more, plenty of other teams are willing to take their chances in the hopes of generating the same result.
