Remember when the offseason was the Super Bowl for Washington? Back then, former owner Daniel Snyder would fire up his jet and bring some of the top free agents to Washington.
That strategy always backfired. When Bruce Allen took over as Washington’s president in 2010, the franchise changed how it operated in free agency.
For years, the franchise looked for cheap free agents on short-term deals, and the results were as predicted. When Washington did make a splash, such as Josh Norman or Landon Collins, it didn’t necessarily work out either.
That previous cheapness mainly persisted when Ron Rivera took over as coach and defacto GM in 2020. One positive from Rivera’s era was that he did manage to extend some of Washington’s top players.
But Rivera struck out in free agency, too, for the most part, particularly over the last three years.
When the Commanders did spend on outside free agents, they didn’t spend wisely. Overall, though, Washington has been cheap over the past three years, as only three teams have spent less cash than the Commanders, according to Spotrac.
Estimated Cash Spent over the past 3 #NFL Seasons (2021-23)
1. #Browns, $1.33B
2. #Bills, $1.3B
3. #Saints, $1.25B
4. #Jets, $1.23B
5. #Ravens, $1.21B
6. #Dolphins, $1.2B
7. #Buccaneers, $1.19B
8. #Jaguars, $1.18B
9. #49ers, $1.17B
10. #Seahawks, $1.15B pic.twitter.com/5d3uQ5Pm4e— Spotrac (@spotrac) March 7, 2024
Rivera received much of the blame for that, which is fair. However, Snyder’s cash flow was an issue and played a more significant role in Washington’s lack of aggressiveness in free agency.
Regardless, the Commanders won 26 games in four years under Rivera.
Snyder is gone now, and Allen has been gone for five years. Josh Harris is the new owner, and Adam Peters is the new GM. While the Commanders will primarily be built through the NFL draft, they will use free agency to supplement the roster instead of building the team.
Snyder was known for his cheapness over the years, not investing in FedEx Field or the team’s headquarters in Ashburn. Harris, who didn’t take over until July, has already earmarked $75 million in upgrades at FedEx Field and in Ashburn. Harris has also committed to analytics and sports science.
Times have indeed changed for the Commanders.