Free agency is one of the tentpole events of the NFL calendar, as the week can feel more frenzied than even Sundays during the season. Many free agents turn out to be fool’s gold, but a few have changed the trajectory of their new franchises.
Saquon Barkley is undeniably one of those faces after leading the Philadelphia Eagles to Super Bowl 59, but where does Barkley rank among the most impactful additions since free agency was implemented in 1993?
Note that we are emphasizing impact from both an individual production and team success level. While all the players on this list produced at a high level, some will rank higher because they put their teams over the top in the playoffs, or transformed the perception of their new franchise.
Who Are the Most Impactful Free Agent Signings of All Time?
1) QB Drew Brees, New Orleans Saints (2006)
Drew Brees is now known as one of the greatest quarterbacks to ever play the game, but he was a massive gamble when he hit the free agent market.
After a shoulder injury at the end of the 2005 season, the San Diego Chargers only offered an incentive-based contract to Brees in free agency. The Miami Dolphins infamously passed on the soon-to-be superstar due to concerns over his shoulder in favor of Daunte Culpepper, who only started four games for the Dolphins and clashed with Nick Saban.
That choice allowed Brees to land with the franchise he’d call home for the rest of his career — the New Orleans Saints.
Brees was an immediate star in New Orleans. In his first season with the team, he led the league in passing yards. In his second season, he led the league in completions. And in his third, Brees led the league in completions, passing yards, and passing touchdowns, winning Offensive Player of the Year in the process.
Of course, the capstone came in 2009, when Brees led the Saints to their first and only Super Bowl appearance. New Orleans captured its first title by becoming the second team to overcome a double-digit deficit in Super Bowl history, defeating Peyton Manning and the Indianapolis Colts in Super Bowl 44.
Though a second Lombardi Trophy would elude Brees for the rest of his career, he was a metronomically elite quarterback during his 15-year tenure with the Saints. In New Orleans, he became the first QB to pass for over 80,000 yards and consistently re-broke the all-time completion percentage record (Brees has the top two and five of the top 10 single-season completion percentage marks).
Given the length of his tenure and what he and Sean Payton did for a moribund franchise, Brees has a strong argument as the greatest free agent signing of all time.
2) QB Kurt Warner, St. Louis Rams (1997) and Arizona Cardinals (2005)
Kurt Warner is a tricky case on this list, as he signed a futures contract with the St. Louis Rams in December 1997 before being allocated to play in NFL Europe. His signing with the Arizona Cardinals was through the more traditional veteran free agency route, as he signed a one-year deal with Arizona in March 2005.
Regardless, if we count both together, Warner completely changed the trajectory of two non-contending franchises in shocking fashion. The Greatest Show on Turf remains one of the most iconic offenses of all-time, as the Rams led the NFL in scoring offense three straight seasons from 1999-2001. Warner or Marshall Faulk took home MVP honors all three of those seasons, with Warner winning in 1999 and 2001.
The 1999 Rams remain one of the greatest Cinderella stories in league history, going from a last-place 4-12 outfit to an unlikely 13-3 Super Bowl champion in a single season. St. Louis was on the other end of an iconic upset two years later in the Super Bowl vs. the New England Patriots, and injuries and ineffectiveness ended Warner’s rocket ship trajectory as quickly as it began.
If that had been the end of the Kurt Warner story, he still would have ranked highly for his brief-but-dazzling Rams tenure. However, he also snapped the longest Conference Championship appearance drought in NFL history, bringing the 2008 Cardinals to their first Super Bowl appearance. It was the first time the franchise had played for a title since 1948, when they were still the Chicago Cardinals.
Although Arizona was on the short end of one of the best Super Bowls played, Warner still cemented his place on the franchise’s best team of the Super Bowl era. Because of what he did for multiple franchises as the most iconic individual Cinderella story in NFL history, Warner earns a high place on the best free agent signings ever.
3) QB Tom Brady, Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2020)
The G.O.A.T.’s free agency was an earth-shattering moment in the NFL landscape in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, but it resulted in shockingly few suitors.
Tom Brady entered the free agent market with six Super Bowl rings, three league MVP awards, and a litany of NFL records to his name following 20 seasons with the New England Patriots. But Brady received tepid interest, with only the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Los Angeles Chargers seriously pursuing a quarterback who would turn 43 before the season.
He ultimately selected Tampa Bay, a franchise that was on an active 12-season playoff drought at the time of his signing. To help the Bucs maximize his narrow window, Brady signed a two-year, $50 million deal, a relative bargain.
The Buccaneers were able to use the rest of their cap space to build around Brady, signing veterans like RB Leonard Fournette, trading for former Brady teammate TE Rob Gronkowski, and retaining key players in DT Ndamukong Suh, EDGE Jason Pierre-Paul, and EDGE Shaquil Barrett.
With Brady in tow, the Buccaneers immediately transformed from irrelevancy to contenders, running through the 2020 postseason as a Wild Card and defeating the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl 55. The Bucs were the first team to host the big game in their own stadium, and Brady earned his record seventh Lombardi Trophy.
The Bucs didn’t make it back to the Super Bowl, but did win the division in each of Brady’s next and final two NFL seasons, with 2021 resulting in an MVP runner-up finish. Although his time in Tampa Bay was short, Brady brought the Bucs to a level rarely seen in their franchise’s history.
4) QB Peyton Manning, Denver Broncos (2012)
Few players were more synonymous with a franchise than Peyton Manning with the Indianapolis Colts, making his free agency one of the more surreal experiences.
Of course, the move made sense for Indianapolis, even if it didn’t go as planned. The Colts had the first overall pick in the 2012 NFL Draft, and Andrew Luck, the purported greatest QB prospect since John Elway, was coming out of Stanford. Manning had just undergone serious neck surgery, and there were fair questions as to the viability of his playing future.
Regardless, Manning had his fair share of suitors. Among the most interested teams were the Miami Dolphins, the Tennessee Titans, the Arizona Cardinals, and the Denver Broncos. Manning ultimately chose the Mile High City, signing a five-year, $96 million deal.
Manning’s Broncos tenure was a resounding success. Denver made the playoffs in all four years of his tenure. In his second season, he earned the NFL MVP award while setting the single-season records for passing yards (5,477) and passing TD (55). Denver also became the first team to score more than 600 points in one year (606).
In 2015, Manning was clearly on the decline and hampered by injury, but he capped his career in fitting fashion when he and a historically stout Broncos defense defeated the Carolina Panthers in Super Bowl 50, securing The Sheriff’s second Lombardi Trophy.
5) DE Reggie White, Green Bay Packers (1993)
Reggie White is synonymous with the birth of NFL free agency. After a Hall of Fame-worthy career with the Philadelphia Eagles, White joined the Green Bay Packers to put together what would become essentially a second sterling career.
White was the best defensive player in the NFL when he became the NFL’s first major free agent star after its implementation in 1993. He had an astounding 124 sacks across eight seasons in Philly, which included a Defensive Player of the Year award in 1987.
After being recruited by teams like San Francisco and Washington, White took Green Bay’s four-year, $17 million offer, an astronomical deal by the standards of that era.
While it would have been nearly impossible to live up to that with the Packers, White won a second Defensive Player of the Year in 1998 and was an integral part of the 1996 Super Bowl championship team.
His signature moment with the Packers came in his biggest game for Green Bay. In Super Bowl 31 vs. the Patriots, White had three sacks, one shy of the single-game Super Bowl record.
White, who was posthumously elected to the Hall of Fame when first eligible five years after his retirement, is widely recognized as one of the best defensive players of all time and remains second on the official sack list behind Bruce Smith.
6) RB Saquon Barkley, Philadelphia Eagles (2024)
It’s only been one season, but Saquon Barkley is already one of the most impactful free agents ever after threatening Eric Dickerson’s single-season rushing record. After six seasons with the NFC East rival New York Giants, Barkley left for a three-year, $37.75 million deal with the Eagles, much to the dismay of Giants owner John Mara.
But even Mara could not have predicted how spectacular Barkley’s first season in Philadelphia would be. Even while sitting out the team’s regular-season finale, Barkley became the ninth player all-time to rush for 2,000 yards.
He set the Eagles’ single-season record for rushing yards (2,005) and scrimmage yards (2,283). Combining regular season and playoffs, Barkley’s 2,447 rushing yards were 30 yards shy of breaking the most in a single season all-time entering Super Bowl 59, held by Terrell Davis in 1998 (2,476).
Barkley was one of the most electrifying home run threats in recent memory. Including the playoffs, he recorded seven rushing touchdowns of at least 60 yards. No other player had more than four in a single season. That included three scores of 60+ yards in playoff wins over the Los Angeles Rams and Washington Commanders.
While the running back market may not bounce back to its height of the 1990s and early 2000s, Barkley’s impact as the fulcrum of a Super Bowl offense could change how teams view the elite talents at running back. If there were any questions about whether running backs matter, Barkley’s 2024 season is proof that they absolutely can.
7) CB Deion Sanders, San Francisco 49ers (1994) and Dallas Cowboys (1995)
Deion Sanders was an icon in five seasons with the Atlanta Falcons, but just about the only thing missing from Prime Time’s résumé was playoff success. In fact, Sanders had more title-round appearances in his second sport, as he played in the 1992 World Series for the Atlanta Braves.
That changed in 1994 when Sanders signed a one-year deal with the San Francisco 49ers. Sanders helped put an extremely talented team over the top after back-to-back playoff losses against the Dallas Cowboys. In his lone Niners season, Sanders won Defensive Player of the Year thanks to six interceptions, three of which he returned for touchdowns.
Sanders had significant leverage as a free agent in the 1995 offseason, and the “Deion Sweepstakes” spread into the season. In Week 2, he jumped ship to the other side of the 49ers-Cowboys rivalry, signing a seven-year, $35 million deal with Dallas to become the highest-paid defensive player in the NFL.
As in San Francisco, Sanders’ arrival paid immediate Super Bowl dividends for the Cowboys. Dallas captured its third title in four seasons, becoming the first franchise to win three Super Bowls in a four-year span. Sanders would play five seasons in Dallas, earning four Pro Bowl berths and three first-team All-Pro nods.
8) DB Charles Woodson, Green Bay Packers (2006)
Charles Woodson enjoyed a decorated football career during his 20s with Michigan and the Oakland Raiders. Woodson captured the 1997 Heisman Trophy, 1998 Defensive Rookie of the Year, and was first-team All-Pro in 1999. He was a Pro Bowler each of his first four NFL seasons and was a key starter on the 2002 Raiders team that reached the Super Bowl.
Still, as he approached his 30th birthday, it appeared Woodson’s star had faded. A broken leg ended his 2005 season after six games, as injuries had caused Woodson to miss time each of his final four seasons with Oakland after he played every game his first four seasons in the NFL.
As a result, Woodson received only one offer in free agency, an incentive-laden seven-year deal with the Green Bay Packers. Despite Woodson’s disinterest in playing in Green Bay, he accepted the offer due to the lack of offers from the other 31 teams.
The choice turned out to be one of the best free agent bargains ever. Woodson recaptured his elite form and was first- or second-team All-Pro for four straight seasons from 2008-11. That included a Defensive Player of the Year award in 2009.
Woodson would help the Packers win their only title this century in Super Bowl 45 after the 2010 season (though he broke his collarbone in the first half and had to watch from the sidelines after halftime). Woodson even got to write the final chapter on his Raiders career, earning a Pro Bowl nod in his final season in 2015 as a 39-year-old and cementing his status as an icon for both franchises.
9) RB Curtis Martin, New York Jets (1998)
One of the best players in the history of the New York Jets began his career with the division-rival New England Patriots. Curtis Martin was selected in the third round of the 1995 NFL Draft and became an immediate star for New England.
Martin rushed for 1,487 yards and 14 touchdowns his rookie season and tacked on 30 receptions for 261 yards through the air. Two more highly productive seasons in Foxboro led to Martin receiving strong interest as a restricted free agent in the 1998 offseason.
His former head coach, Bill Parcells, and the New York Jets made a strong offer at six years, $36 million, but the most notable aspect of the offer sheet was that it contained a “poison pill.”
According to NJ.com, the Jets’ offer contained “a provision in which Martin could become an unrestricted free agent the following season if the Patriots matched the offer, allowing him to leave New England without the Patriots receiving a dime.” The deal also included a roster bonus that would have been untenable given the Patriots’ salary cap situation.
New England didn’t match, but the team filed a complaint with the NFL, arguing a violation of the league’s collective bargaining agreement, and ultimately received the Jets’ first- and third-round picks in the 1998 NFL Draft in compensation.
That penalty turned out to be a bargain for New York. Martin was one of the league’s best running backs for nearly his entire tenure with the Jets and rushed for seven straight 1,000+ yard seasons. In his sixth year with the team and age-31 season, Martin racked up a league-high 1,697 yards at a career-high 4.6 yards per carry with 12 rushing touchdowns.
Following his retirement, the Jets retired Martin’s No. 28 jersey and inducted him into the team’s Ring of Honor. Martin was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2012.
10) DE Simeon Rice, Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2001)
Over his first five NFL seasons, Simeon Rice was an excellent player on an anonymous franchise. Rice was Defensive Rookie of the Year in 1996 and recorded 16.5 sacks in 1999, but he appeared in the playoffs just once for the Arizona Cardinals.
Rice wanted to play for a contender as a free agent, signing with a formidable Tampa Bay Buccaneers team that had come up short in the playoffs. That would be true again in 2001, but Rice’s second season with the Bucs resulted in the franchise’s first Super Bowl title. Rice played an integral part in the 2002 playoff run, recording four sacks and three forced fumbles. He was also first-team All-Pro that season thanks to 15.5 sacks.
Rice would play six seasons in Tampa Bay for one of the best defenses of that era. He recorded double-digit sacks each of his first five years with the Buccaneers before left shoulder surgery limited him to eight games in 2006 and effectively ended his career.
Rice is not in the Pro Football Hall of Fame despite 122 career sacks and eight seasons with double-digit sacks (tied for sixth-most all-time). He was overshadowed by bigger names on the Bucs defense like Warren Sapp, Derrick Brooks, John Lynch, and Ronde Barber, but Rice’s role in putting Tampa Bay over the top should not be discounted.
11) QB Rich Gannon, Oakland Raiders (1999)
After 11 NFL seasons with three franchises, there was seemingly no mystery left to Rich Gannon’s career. After all, he had never made the Pro Bowl, passed for 3,000 yards, or started a playoff game. It was a solid career for the former fourth-round pick, but there was little reason to believe that Gannon was anything more than a low-level starter or high-end backup.
That changed when he left the Kansas City Chiefs for the AFC West rival Oakland Raiders in 1999. Gannon thrived under Jon Gruden, earning four straight Pro Bowl appearances from 1999-2002. The last of those seasons was his peak, as Gannon won MVP at age 37 with an NFL-high 4,689 passing yards.
The season ended on an extremely sour note for Gannon and the Raiders, who were soundly dominated by Gruden’s new team, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, in Super Bowl 37. That essentially marked the end of Gannon’s terrific run, as he suffered a serious shoulder injury after seven games in 2003 and only played three more games the rest of his career.
Still, Gannon’s shocking late-career surge provided the most recent taste of glory for a formerly proud franchise. The Raiders have not won a playoff game since the 2002 AFC Championship Game, as Gannon’s arrival made Oakland’s brief window of contention possible.
12) RB Priest Holmes, Kansas City Chiefs (2001)
Priest Holmes had a good run after being an undrafted free agent with the Baltimore Ravens. Holmes was able to stick in Baltimore for four seasons, serving as a passing-down backup to rookie Jamal Lewis on the 2000 Super Bowl-winning team.
However, Holmes’ career took off when he went to the Kansas City Chiefs on a modest deal in 2002. Holmes led the NFL with 1,555 rushing yards in his first season with the Chiefs, becoming the first undrafted free agent to do so.
He was even more productive the next two seasons. In 2002, Holmes won Offensive Player in the Year after leading the NFL in scrimmage yards (2,287) and rushing TD (21). In 2003, he set the single-season record for TD scored with 27 (a record which was since broken by Shaun Alexander and LaDainian Tomlinson).
Holmes’ career was unfortunately cut short by a spinal injury in 2005, as he missed the entire 2006 season and played only four games in 2007 before retiring after re-injuring his neck. Still, for his spectacular three-year run on an exciting offense that featured Trent Green and Tony Gonzalez, Holmes was inducted into the Chiefs Hall of Fame in 2014.
13) OLB Mike Vrabel, New England Patriots (2001)
After not starting a single game in four seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers, Mike Vrabel became one of the faces of the first half of the New England Patriots dynasty. Vrabel played eight seasons in Foxboro, and while he wasn’t necessarily a league leader in any individual category, his all-around excellence embodied the versatility of the Patriots’ roster.
Vrabel recorded 48 sacks, 11 interceptions, and 13 forced fumbles during his Patriots career. He also moonlighted as goal-line tight end, catching 12 passes for 12 touchdowns (including playoffs) with New England. To date, Vrabel is the only player who played in the Super Bowl Era (since 1966) and had at least 10 receiving TD and 10 interceptions in his career.
Vrabel was inducted into the Patriots Hall of Fame in 2023 for his contributions to New England’s dynasty. His time with the Patriots organization was revived when he was named their head coach in 2025, potentially serving as an additional benefit for New England 17 years after the end of his time as a player with the team.
14) DB Rod Woodson, Baltimore Ravens (1998)
Rod Woodson enjoyed a legendary 14-year run with the Pittsburgh Steelers, earning six first-team All-Pro honors and Defensive Player of the Year in 1993. But while Woodson’s Hall of Fame career was largely written in Pittsburgh, he also delivered some impressive seasons with the AFC North rival Baltimore Ravens.
After being cut by the San Francisco 49ers following one season with the franchise in 1997, Woodson signed a three-year deal with the Ravens. He would play three seasons in Baltimore, earning Pro Bowl nods three times and serving as one of the faces of the legendary 2000 Super Bowl championship defense.
Woodson’s penchant for the pick-six remained prevalent in Baltimore. He had five pick-sixes with the Ravens and 20 interceptions in total (including a league-high seven picks in 1999). Woodson finished his career with 12 pick-sixes, the most in NFL history.
15) WR Jerry Rice, Oakland Raiders (2001)
Jerry Rice was already the greatest wide receiver ever when he left the San Francisco 49ers after 16 record-breaking seasons. At age 39, it was fair to wonder if Rice needed to keep playing. During his final season with the 49ers in 2000, he averaged only 50.3 receiving yards per game, his fewest in any healthy season of his career.
However, Rice bounced back with 1,139 receiving yards for the Oakland Raiders in 2001, then earned his 13th and final Pro Bowl appearance in 2002 at age 40. Rice was the top receiver on a veteran-laden Raiders squad that reached the Super Bowl.
Rice would play two more seasons with modest production before retiring right before the 2005 season. But his two-year coda was remarkable beyond his role in helping the Raiders achieve Super Bowl contender status. It also shattered expectations for the wide receiver aging curve, and helped put Rice’s many all-time NFL receiving records into potentially unbreakable territory.
