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Overpays are commonplace during NFL free agency. Teams signing players on the open market are competing against every other team in the league, so you usually have to outbid everybody else in order to land the players that you want. However, some deals are so outlandish that they stand out in comparison to the rest. The free agent negotiation period opened up at 12 p.m. ET on Monday, March 10, so check out the gallery to see the biggest overpays from the start of NFL free agency.
Milton Williams, New England Patriots — 4 years, $104 million
Milton Williams has tons of potential, and he just may live up to this contract. However, for what he has produced so far, this was an overpay by the New England Patriots. Williams forced his way onto the field for the Philadelphia Eagles en route to the team winning Super Bowl 59.
However, he has still spent most of his career as a backup. He has only started 19 of his 67 career games, as the Eagles had first-round investments in Jordan Davis and Jalen Carter. The four-year, $104 million deal makes Williams the third highest-paid defensive tackle both in terms of total contract value and average annual value. Williams just hasn't proven himself to be worth that much yet, and the Patriots were clearly making a high-risk, high-reward move with the future in mind here.
Justin Fields, New York Jets — 2 years, $40 million
The Chicago Bears gave up on Justin Fields and traded him for only a sixth-round pick before last season. Then, the Pittsburgh Steelers benched the quarterback after only six games. Two teams have already given up on the former first-round pick, so it was surprising to see the New York Jets fork over so much money for the Ohio State product.
Fields signed a two-year, $40 million deal to be Aaron Rodgers' replacement. Quarterbacks get a lot of money in the NFL, but that price tag is just too much for a guy that hasn't worked out so far. Fields is one of the greatest rushing quarterbacks ever already, but he hasn't figured out the rest of the quarterback position. The Jets even guaranteed $30 million of that deal, meaning New York is locked into Fields for more than just the upcoming season.
A multi-year commitment makes it seem that the Jets view Fields as more than just a bridge quarterback, so this move likely prevents the team from pursuing a rookie quarterback. Fields has never come close to approaching 3,000 passing yards in a season, and that just doesn't fly in the modern NFL.
Haason Reddick, Tampa Bay Buccaneers — 1 year, $14 million
The 2024 season was a disastrous one for Haason Reddick. After being traded from the Eagles to the Jets, Reddick held out for a new contract before requesting another trade. That trade request was never granted, but Reddick still skipped the beginning of the season. When he was finally ready to play, he looked like a shell of his former self.
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A prove-it deal makes sense for Reddick, so the Tampa Bay Buccaneers signed the edge rusher to a one-year deal where he can try to reestablish value before hitting the open market again next offseason. What doesn't make sense is having that prove-it deal total as much as $14 million. After such a bad season, it seems like Reddick could have been had for cheaper.
D.J. Jones, Denver Broncos — 3 years, $39 million
The Denver Broncos re-signed D.J. Jones for $39 million over three years. While treating your own guys is an appreciated philosophy, this deal has to be looked at as an overpay. Jones' previous contract with the Broncos was also for three years, but that contract was worth nine million less. Jones hasn't gotten any younger or any more talented since then.
Additionally, Jones is a run-stuffing defensive tackle, so he gets taken off the field in a lot of pass rushing situations. In fact, Jones was only on the field for 40 percent of the Broncos' defensive snaps last year, so giving him a pay raise is a bit perplexing.
Charvarius Ward, Indianapolis Colts — 3 years, $60 million
Charvarius Ward is a good player, but his play did slip last season. Still, it didn't come as a surprise that he'd be one of the highest-paid free agent cornerbacks this offseason. What was a surprise was that he'd be paid so much more than his peers. D.J. Reed, for example, was given a three-year, $48 million deal, and he was our number one-ranked free agent cornerback.
Paulson Adebo, Nate Hobbs, and Jourdan Lewis were all paid significantly less than Ward as well. Only Carlton Davis was given a comparable contract at the cornerback position (Davis was also paid $60 million over three years), but Ward is coming off of a season where he didn't intercept a single pass, so he has definitely been one of the biggest overpays so far during NFL free agency.
