As the
funstravaganza (not a real word) that is NFL free agency winds down, I am
reminded again that there is a structural reason that free agent contracts in
every sport pay more than players are “worth.” It turns out that the reason is
slightly more complicated than: The owners are all crazy (though it still
explains why Daniel Snyder, in particular, is crazy). The exception to this is the late 1980s in baseball,
when owners agreed to simply
not offer contracts to free agents from other teams. This actually
happened, you can look it up. It bears mentioning that if this were attempted
today, the internet would melt.