Free agency hasn’t been quite as slow as it was last winter, but it’s still been a far cry from the annual sweepstakes we seem to expect. Aside from the general trend away from free agents, though, the other thing that’s caught my eye is the changing structure of deals.
Once upon a time free agent contracts were pretty simple, you had a term and a dollar figure, maybe some incentives, and possibly a no-trade clause. Over the last two winters we’ve seen a dramatic rise in opt-outs, lowering the guaranteed money totals while providing flexibility to players.