Who’s Left in Free Agency?

With the NFL Draft complete, we take a look at the top available free agents by position.

NBA

The 2020 NBA free agency period has been one of the wildest in recent memory. After a season like no other, free agency is off to a running start with plenty of movement still to come.

Unrestricted Free Agents

Unrestricted free agency is a type of free agency in the National Basketball Association (NBA) that allows teams to sign any free agent who is not bound to another team. Unrestricted free agency began in the NBA in 1981. Before that, a player’s former team always had the right to match any contract offer from another team. In order to be an unrestricted free agent, a player must have completed four or more seasons in the league.

Notable unrestricted free agents this offseason include:

Restricted Free Agents

Restricted free agents (RFAs) are a type of free agent in the National Basketball Association (NBA). A restricted free agent is one whose current team has the right of first refusal to retain him by matching any contract offer he may receive from another team.

Teams can extend a qualifying offer (“QO”) to their own restricted free agents, making them restricted. If the player does not sign the qualifying offer, he becomes an unrestricted free agent after his current contract expires.

Some notable restricted free agents this season include:

NFL

The NFL season is right around the corner and teams are scrambling to fill their rosters with the best talent available. Some of the biggest names in the league are still unsigned, including J.J. Watt, Jadeveon Clowney, and Dak Prescott. Who will end up where?

Unrestricted Free Agents

Unrestricted free agents are free to sign with any team. If they do not sign a new contract by the start of the new league year, they become unrestricted free agents.

-Quarterbacks
-Running Backs
-Wide Receivers
-Tight Ends
-Offensive Linemen
-Defensive Linemen
-Linebackers
-Defensive Backs

Restricted Free Agents

The following players have received a qualifying offer from their respective teams and are now restricted free agents. These players can negotiate with any team, but their original team has the right to match any offer or receive draft-pick compensation if they choose not to match.

Ka’Waun Brown, LB, New Orleans Saints
Daryl Williams, OT, Carolina Panthers
Allen Robinson, WR, Chicago Bears
Donte Moncrief, WR, Pittsburgh Steelers

MLB

The MLB free agency is winding down, and there are only a handful of big names left on the market.

Unrestricted Free Agents

The following is a list of some of the most notable Unrestricted Free Agents still available. Unrestricted free agents are free to sign with any team, with no compensation owed to their former team.

Bryce Harper, Philadelphia Phillies outfielder: Harper is one of the most coveted position players on the market. He’s just 26 years old and is a six-time All-Star. He’s coming off a down year in which he hit .249 with 34 home runs and 100 RBI, but he’s still one of the best players in baseball.

Manny Machado, Los Angeles Dodgers infielder: Machado is another young star who is still in his prime. He’s a two-time Gold Glove winner and was an All-Star in 2015 and 2016. He hit .297 with 37 home runs and 107 RBI last season.

Dallas Keuchel, Houston Astros pitcher: Keuchel is a former Cy Young Award winner (2015) and was an All-Star in 2017. The left-hander went 12-11 with a 3.74 ERA last season.

Craig Kimbrel, Boston Red Sox pitcher: Kimbrel is one of the best closers in baseball and has been for several years now. He’s a seven-time All-Star and has led the league in saves three times (2012, 2014, 2017). Last season he had 42 saves with a 2.74 ERA.

Restricted Free Agents

Restricted free agents are players with three accrued seasons whose contracts have expired. If they receive a qualifying offer (a one-year contract at the mean salary of the 125 highest-paid players from the previous season), they can either sign it and stay with their previous team or sign an offer sheet with another team. If they sign an offer sheet, their original team has a chance to match the new contract and keep them on the roster. If the original team opts not to match, it may receive draft-pick compensation from the player’s new team.