Hall of Fame outside linebacker Kevin Greene was among the first players to benefit from the free agency era in the early 1990s, signing a three-year contract with the Pittsburgh Steelers that season that was worth $5.35 million, which was quite a sum at the time. I believe the salary cap for the 1993 season was about $32 million, for comparison’s sake.
As the first generation of players to benefit from unrestricted free agency (though he did spend his first eight seasons with the Rams), Greene got the chance to dip into the pool multiple times, also having a three-year stint (over two separate contracts) with the Carolina Panthers and spending a year with the San Francisco 49ers as well.